Feb. 26, 2011
Box Score
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -Sophomore Erin Galloway, freshman Shelby Gott and junior Kelsey Krych had two hits each as the Oakland University softball team (4-8) lost a heartbreaker, 4-3 to Howard (2-3), Saturday evening at Cyrill Stadium.
"This was a very tough loss," said head coach LaDonia Hughes. "Plain and simple, we did not finish the game today. It's frustrating but I know that with some hard work, we will get more consistent."
In the first inning, freshman Erika Polidori was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a wild pitch and stole third. Galloway singled up the middle to score Polidori.
In the third inning, Krych singled through the right side and stole second. Polidori laid down a bunt single to move Krych to third. Polidori stole second and Howard then turned a double play to get out of the inning.
In the fourth inning with one out, Galloway singled through the left side. Senior Marisa Everitt laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Galloway to second. Gott singled to third base pushing Galloway to third. The Bison got a ground out to end the threat.
In the bottom of the fourth with one out, Emily Johnson and Ciera Gordon singled and moved to third and second on a sacrifice bunt. Junior Kylie Schalz made a great play on a ground ball to throw the runner out at first.
In the bottom of the fifth for Howard, Andascha Moore reached on an error and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Lorae Robinson singled to move Moore to third. Marisa Coats grounded out to shortstop to score Moore. Rebecca Kirshner singled to leftfield to score Robinson.
In the sixth, Schalz blasted the ball over the right centerfield fence and off the flag pole steps. That tied the game at 2-2. Freshman Megan McQueen came in to pinch hit and reached on an error. Everitt came back in to run for McQueen and stole second. A fly out ended the inning.
In the top of the seventh, freshman Shannon Cleveland singled through the right side and stole second. Freshman Alyssa Shriver grounded out to move Cleveland to third. Sophomore Alivia Nikolaus was hit by a pitch to put runners on the corners. Krych singled through the left side to score Cleveland.
Following a ground out, Schalz walked to load the bases. The Bison got a ground out to end the inning.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Bison flew out and got a single from Robinson. Coats ripped a double to put runners at second and third. An error pushed Robinson across the plate. A single from Johnson scored Coats for the game winner.
For Oakland, Galloway and Krych were 2-for-4 each, Gott went 2-for-3 and Schalz had a home run. Senior Alison Tansel (1-3) gave up 10 hits, four runs, one earned and struck out three in 6.1 innings.
For Howard, Gordon was 3-for-3 while Johnson and Robinson had two hits each. Samantha Gatson (1-0) gave up nine hits, three runs and struck out four in seven innings.
Oakland is back in action, Mar. 4 when they take on Morehead State in Morehead, Ky. The doubleheader is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. Live Stats are available are www.ougrizzlies.com
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