Friday, April 28, 2006

After dropping game one 8-0 in five innings Friday afternoon at Western Illinois, the Crusaders bounced back in game two behind an Ashley Wolter (Denver, Iowa/Denver) homer to win 8-2 and earn a split.

The two clubs played the first three innings of game two without a run before Wolter followed Beth Adamski's (Saint John, Ind./Lake Central) leadoff hit in the fourth with her third longball of the season. With the bases loaded and two out later in the frame, Shannon Robinson (Toronto, Ontario/John Redmond) busted the game open with a bases-clearing double into the gap in left. The double was the Crusader backstop's 12th of the season, one shy of Megan Carroll's (Eaton Rapids, Mich./Eaton Rapids) school-record 13 of one season ago.

The Crusaders struck again in the fifth, taking advantage of a two-out error when Alicia Ashburn (Mishawaka, Ind./Mishawaka) singled home a run. Then in the sixth, Taylor Callahan (Pendergrass, Ga./Greater Atlanta Christian) ripped Valpo's third extra-base hit, a triple down the line in right, driving in Robinson from first. Adamski brought Callahan home moments later with a sacrifice fly.

Robinson had a big game for the Brown and Gold, going 3-for-4 with 3 RBI and throwing another runner out from behind the plate. The sophomore's performance jumped her batting average nine points to .317, the highest on the team behind only the injured Carroll.

Andrea Zappia (Indianapolis, Ind./Franklin Central) went six innings in only her seventh start of the season, allowing two runs on four hits and notching the victory to move to 8-11. Kamren Ferguson allowed five runs in 3.2 innings and was saddled with the loss.

Game one looked much like game two, except it was the Westerwinds who did the big hitting. The hosts scored five times in the second inning on a single, double and triple with two out. Western Illinois put the Brown and Gold away in the third, scoring three more times on a home run off the bat of Jennifer Garcia.

Chris Halstead (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral), struggled in her 2.1 innings in the circle and took the loss, falling to 7-8. Ferguson went the distance and allowed only three hits to earn the win.

The Crusaders (19-27, 6-12 Mid-Con) and Westerwinds (17-30-1, 9-8 Mid-Con) will meet for two more games Saturday beginning at 12:00 p.m. Valpo then returns home to wrap up the regular season with four games May 5-6 against UMKC.

Game one box score
Game two box score