Friday, March 10, 2006

The Crusaders won their third straight, downing Saint Joseph's (Pa.) 6-1 Friday morning at the Rebel Spring Games in Orlando, Fla. before falling to Fairleigh Dickinson 1-0 in their second game of the day.

The scorching hot Megan Carroll (Eaton Rapids, Mich./Eaton Rapids) got Valpo started, leading off the game with a triple, and scoring soon after on a wild pitch.

Then in the third, with the score still 1-0, Carroll drove in Mallory Gill (Beloit, Wis./Memorial) with her second triple of the game, kick-starting a big inning. Taylor Callahan (Pendergrass, Ga./Greater Atlanta Christian) doubled in Carroll two batters later to make in 3-0, and came in to score on a single from Courtney LaFerle (Elgin, Ill./Larkin). Ann Sievert (Davenport, Iowa/Assumption) singled in LaFerle with two outs, capping the four-run inning and putting the game out of reach.

The Brown and Gold got an unearned insurance run in the fourth when Gill scored on a passed ball after executing a double-steal with Carroll.

Chris Halstead (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) earned her second win in as many starts, pitching five shutout innings and striking out three. Dani Gonzales took the loss for the Hawks, but did lead the way offensively with three hits and an RBI.

Valpo mustered only five hits in the second game of the day, unable to plate a run against Fairleigh Dickinson starter Nicole Webb. Webb went the distance and did not allow a single Crusader runner past second base.

The Knights scored their lone run in the third off starter Stephanie Kelly (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield) when Caitlyn Reuter doubled in a run with one out.

Shannon Robinson (Toronto, Ontario/John Redmond) went 2-for-3 to lead the Crusader offense, and Carroll went 1-for-3 extending her hitting streak to 10 games. Carroll is batting .524 overall this season, and has at least two hits in eight of Valpo's 12 games.

The Brown and Gold (6-6) conclude play at the Rebel Spring Games Saturday, squaring off with Eastern Illinois at 9:40 a.m. before taking on Monmouth (N.J.) at 1:20 p.m.

Valpo-Saint Joseph's box score
Valpo-Fairleigh Dickinson box score