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April 17, 2009
Game 1 boxscore and play-by-play Game 2 boxscore and play-by-play Megan McCormick slammed a two-run homer, her second of the game, to cap a four-run 10th inning that gave IUP a 16-12 victory over Mansfield and move the Crimson Hawks to within two wins of a berth in the PSAC playoffs. Mansfield took the opener 2-1. IUP is 17-19 overall and 4-10 in the PSAC Central. Mansfield is 6-10 in the division (14-18 overall) but the Crimson Hawks can tie the Mountaineers for third place with a sweep over last place Clarion Saturday. In that scenario, IUP would earn the final playoff berth from the Central as a result of a better record than Mansfield versus common opponents. McCormick drove in seven runs in the nightcap and added a triple to her two home runs. Marissa Leslie and Kristen Tunno also had three hits and combined to drive in five runs. Sam Goettman and Kelsey Ferguson joined McCormick with home runs. IUP had leads of 3-0, 6-5, 8-6 and 12-9 but needed the four-run 10th inning to finally put away the Mountaineers. Ashley Arentz was placed at second as per the softball tiebreaker rule and was sacrificed to third by Michelle Bivona. Jessie James singled to drive in Arentz with what proved to be the winning run, and Tunno doubled in James with two outs to make it 14-12. McCormick followed with her second homer of the game and fourth of the season. Jenny Shaffer then retired all three Mansfield batters in the bottom of the inning to complete the three and a half hour marathon. Shaffer pitched the final 5 2/3 innings in relief of Erin Holloway and earned her seventh win of the season, allowing seven hits and three runs. The game went into extra innings tied at nine. With two outs and nobody on in the top of the eighth, James doubled, Leslie was hit by a pitch and Tunno singled to load the bases. McCormick cleared the bases with a triple to give the Crimson Hawks a 12-9 lead. But Mansfield struck right back in its half of the inning on a three-run homer by Katie McConville and it stayed tied until IUP secured the win two innings later. In the first game, IUP took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on a double by Alex Daughenbaugh and RBI two-base hit by McCormick. But that would be the only offense the Crimson Hawks could muster against Mansfield pitcher Melissa Baer. The Mountaineers took the lead in the third on a two-run homer by Nicole Yost and Baer made the lead stand up, pitching around a leadoff double by Brittany Allman in the seventh. Holloway struck out seven in a complete game four-hitter for IUP. |
