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The Edinboro softball has opened the 2006
season with four wins so far in the Gene Cusic Classic in Ft.
Myers. Victories have come over Wilmington (DE), 3-2; Minnesota
St. Moorhead 5-2; Bloomfield, 7-2; and Bentley, 7-0.
Edinboro 3, Wilmington (DE) 2
Edinboro 5, Minnesota St.
Moorhead 2
Edinboro 7, Bloomfield 2
Edinboro 7, Bentley 0
Edinboro 3, Wilmington (DE) 2
The Edinboro softball team opened its 2006 campaign against the
Wildcats of Wilmington College at the Gene Cusic Collegiate
Classic in Ft. Myers, FL. The Fighting Scots started off shaky but
held on for a 3-2 victory over the Wildcats in the season-opener.
Vanessa Rose (Akron, OH/Manchester) earned the win on the
mound for Edinboro, going seven innings while giving up four hits
and striking out nine batters.
The Fighting Scots scored the first run of the
game in the bottom of the second when first baseman Leanne
Carmichael (Pinehurst, MA/Billerica Memorial) belted a one-out
triple to left-center and sophomore catcher Jessica Cox
(Cranesville, PA/Northwestern) followed with a single to left
to plate Carmichael.
Edinboro would score two more runs in the
bottom of the fifth inning to make it 3-0. Freshman shortstop Katelyn
Gurgiolo (Stow, OH/Medina) started the one out rally, fouling
off six pitches before legging out an infield single. Designated
player Jessica Lindamood (Hartville, OH/Lake) moved
Gurgiolo to second with the sacrifice bunt and freshman Dana
Webb (Amherst, NY/Williamsville South) then blasted a 1-2
pitch over Wilmington’s left fielder to drive in Gurgiolo.
Rose followed with her second single of the game to score Webb for
Edinboro’s final run.
The Fighting Scots had to shake off the rust
defensively, committing two errors on the first two plays of the
game, but came back to hold the Wildcats scoreless until the top
of the sixth inning. Wilmington’s cleanup batter Amanda
Mucaria singled with one out and shortstop Nicole Hays followed
with another single. The two advanced on a passed ball and Mucaria
scored on Tracey Nepi’s single to left. Rose fanned the next
batter for out two and coaxed a soft grounder from Danielle
Hamilton for what should have ended the inning, but an error by
Gurgiolo allowed Hays to score from third for the game’s
final score.
The Fighting Scots were led by Rose and
Carmichael, each with two hits apiece, while Webb went 1-3 at the
plate with one run scored and one RBI.
Edinboro continues action today at 3 p.m.
against Minnesota St. Moorhead.
Edinboro 5, Minnesota St.
Moorhead 2
The Fighting Scots defeated Minnesota St. Moorhead, 5-2, to win
their second game in a row at the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic.
Sophomore Mary Lynn Arlotta (N. Tonawanda, NY/ Mount. St. Mary
Academy) went the distance for Edinboro, giving up 2 runs on
four hits, walking two and striking out one.
The Fighting Scots retired the visiting Dragons
in order to begin the game and wasted no time posting the first
run of the game during the bottom-half of the first inning. Slap
hitter Katelyn Gurgiolo (Stow, OH/Medina) drew a
lead-off walk to begin the inning and then stole second base. Dana
Webb (Amherst, NY/Williamsville South) came to the plate with
one out and crushed a fastball for a double to plate Gurgiolo.
The Dragons led off the third inning with a
one-out slap single by Kelsey Fehl but that was quickly erased by
catcher Mandie Iorfido (Ambridge, PA/Ambridge), who gunned
out Fehl on the steal attempt. In the top of the fourth, the
Dragons would score a run on Jessica White’s inside the park
home run to tie the game 1-1. Edinboro could not answer in the
bottom of the fourth, going down one-two-three.
The fifth inning featured offense by both
teams, but the Edinboro defense was able to come up with a clutch
play for the first two outs of the inning to stop a possible
Dragon rally. Leadoff batter Meghan Powers singled and moved to
second base on the Megan Bemboom sacrifice. Powers tried to take
third on the play, but an alert Iorfido hustled to the base from
behind the plate and caught a bullet throw Webb at first to
complete the double play. Minnesota State Moorhead would score a
run on two Edinboro errors to take the lead 2-1.
The Fighting Scots battled back in the bottom
half of the inning, putting up three runs to make the score 4-2.
Leanne Carmichael (Pinehurst, MA/Billerica Memorial)
singled and moved to second on a passed ball. Cyndi Carnaghi
(White Plains, NY/White Plains) recorded a double to plate
Carmichael and took second on the throw home. Next up for
Edinboro, Hannah Kipfer (Meadville, PA/Meadville) drilled
a fastball to right field scoring Carnaghi. The Dragons then
brought in pitcher Kari Sagehorn to replace starter Amy
Losselylong. Gurgiolo again used her speed to earn an infield
single, while Jessica Lindamood (Hartville, OH/Lake)
sacrificed Kipfer to third and Gurgiolo to second. Webb just
missed another extra base hit with a shot to right but the
line-drive out was deep enough to allow Kipfer time to tag from
third and score.
Edinboro pushed across another run in the
bottom of the sixth for the game’s final score when freshman
Danielle Arno (Manlius, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius) belted a
double to center and scored on Iorfido’s single.
Gurgiolo went 2-2 at the plate with one run
scored, while Webb added 2 RBI’s. At least seven Fighting
Scots had one hit each and five different baserunners scored.
The Fighting Scots (2-0) are back in action on
Wednesday, March 15 when they take on Bloomfield at 9 a.m. and
Bentley at 11 a.m.
Edinboro 7, Bloomfield 2
Edinboro used 13 hits, including two home runs by junior Hannah
Kipfer (Meadville, PA/Meadville), to push across seven runs
and defeat Bloomfield, 7-2, in the Fighting Scots third spring
training game at Ft. Myers, FL. Junior pitcher Jessica
Lindamood (Hartville, OH/Lake) hurled seven innings, giving up
three hits, walking two and striking out four.
Vanessa Rose (Akron, OH/Manchester)
scored the first run of the game in the top of the second and the
Fighting Scots plated four more in the top of the third, making
the score 5-0.
With one out in the third, Kipfer drilled a
fastball to dead center that sailed over the center fielder’s
head and rolled all the way to the fence for an inside the park
home run. Katelyn Gurgiolo (Stow, OH/Medina) then drew a
walk, stole second and scored on Rose’s opposite field double
down the left field line. Danielle Arno (Manlius,
NY/Fayetteville-Manlius) followed with a walk and Leanne
Carmichael (Pinehurst, MA/Billerica Memorial) plated both Arno
and Rose on a single.
To start the fourth inning, Kipfer led off with
her second home run of the game, giving her back to back home runs
in her first two at-bats. This time the junior leftfielder belted
a shot through a huge gap in right center and it again rolled to
the fence as Kipfer scored easily.
Bloomfield finally was able to answer Kipfer
and the Fighting Scots offense, pushing their only runs of the
game across in the bottom of the fourth. Amanda Byrnes led off the
inning with a single and scored off of Rhea Luhrs’ triple to
dead center. Luhrs would come home on Lindamood’s wild pitch
to make the score 6-2.
Mandie Iorfido (Ambridge, PA/Ambridge)
opened the seventh with a pinch-hit single and would come around
to plate the game’s final run.
Kipfer paced Edinboro at the plate, going 2-4
with two runs scored and 2 RBI’s while Rose went 3-3 with two
runs scored. Carmichael added two hits and 2 RBI’s while Arno
went 1-2 with one run scored.
The Fighting Scots are 3-0 at the Gene Cusic
Collegiate Classic and look to make it four in a row against
Bentley today at 11 a.m.
Edinboro 7, Bentley 0
The Fighting Scots’ offense was able to string together 12
hits for seven runs in a 7-3 victory over Bentley for its fourth
straight win. Edinboro kept Bentley off balance for much of the
game thanks to junior hurler Kim Kurchev (Mogadore,
OH/Mogadore). The 5’2” right-hander mixed off-speed
pitches and painted the corners, holding Bentley scoreless until
the bottom of the fifth. Kurchev went 5 1/3 innings and gave up
two runs. Vanessa Rose (Akron, OH/Manchester) relieved
Kurchev with one out in the sixth and gave up one run on three
hits. The two combined for 13 hits and five strikeouts.
Rose scored the first run of the game in the
top of the second after blooping a single in over the second
baseman’s head. Three batters later, Leanne Carmichael
(Pinehurst, MA/Billerica Memorial) drew a walk with two outs
to give the Fighting Scots runners on second and third, after a
passed ball moved Rose two third and Carmichael stole second.
Senior outfielder Cyndi Carnaghi (White Plains, NY/White
Plains) then ripped a line drive down the left field line to
plate Rose and Carmichael and give the Fighting Scots a 2-0 lead.
Edinboro would make it a 4-0 lead in the top of
the fourth. Carnaghi singled with one out and Hannah Kipfer
(Meadville, PA/Meadville) was hit by a McGinn’s inside
fastball. The next batter, Katelyn Gurgiolo (Stow, OH/Medina)
singled to load the bases. Designated player Jessica Lindamood
(Hartville, OH/Lake) drilled a single to score Carnaghi and
Kipfer, while Gurgiolo moved to third and Lindamood to second on
the throw to the plate. Two fly outs by the Fighting Scots would
end the rally.
Kipfer complimented her offensive performance
in the top half of the inning with a fine defensive effort in the
bottom half of the fourth to keep the shut out alive. With two
outs and a runner on second, Bentley’s Leigh Cavanaugh hit a
single to left. Kipfer quickly fielded the ball and uncorked a
one-hopper to catcher Mandie Iorfido (Ambridge, PA/Ambridge),
who applied the tag well in front of the plate for the final out.
Bentley would score a run in the bottom of the
fifth and two in the bottom of the sixth to make it a 4-3 game
heading into the last inning. However, the Fighting Scots offense
would prevail, plating three more runs on two hits and two Bentley
errors in their last at bat for the final score.
Edinboro now owns a 4-0 record and have four
games left in Ft. Myers, FL. The Fighting Scots will face St.
Michael’s at 4 p.m. and Winona St. at 8 p.m. on Thursday,
March 16. Edinboro will take on Wilmington College on Friday,
March 17 in a rematch of the season-opener at 4 p.m. and Winona
St. on 6 p.m. |
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