April 3, 2007

Box Score

EAST NORRITON, PA - Saint Joseph's sophomore pitcher Dani Gonzalez allowed only three Villanova hits, while her teammates collected five runs off of Wildcat miscues to win the second game of a doubleheader 5-0 at East Norriton Field. The Hawks dropped the opener 6-0 to Villanova.

Gonzalez and Villanova's Nicci Ward kept the bats silent over the opening three innings, but the Hawks broke the silence in the top of the fourth. Saint Joseph's freshman Brooke Darreff doubled off the left field wall to lead off the inning. Advancing to third on a single by classmate Alyssa Neilson, Darreff would come around to score on a pitch by Ward, putting Saint Joseph's up 1-0.

The Hawks took advantage of the Wildcats' defensive errors in the top of the fifth as well. With one out, and junior Carly Kinkler, Gonzalez smacked a shot to the Villanova shortstop, who rushed the throw and threw errantly. Kinkler easily scored from third to put SJU up 2-0, while Gonzalez advanced to second. Moving up to third on a groundout, Gonzalez helped her own cause, scoring on a passed ball to push the Hawks lead to 3-0.

Saint Joseph's extended its lead to 5-0 in the top of the seventh as Gonzalez and classmate Erika Rosenwinkel both score on wild pitches.

On the mound, Gonzalez cruised over the final three innings. Despite giving up a leadoff hit in the bottom of the fifth, the sophomore hurler settled down and retired the next nine Wildcats in a row to end the game and improve to 1-3 on the season with the win.

In game one, the Wildcats' Kat Walsh was dominant on the mound, holding the Hawks to just two hits.

Villanova opened a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth on a two-RBI single by Eryn Teague.

The Wildcats added four insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth as Teague homered and was followed by a RBI single by Katie Verruni and a two-RBI triple by Jessica Curtis.

Saint Joseph's junior outfielder Carly Kinkler finished 3-for-7 on the day, with a run scored to lead the Hawks offense.

With the split, Saint Joseph's moves to 6-14 overall, while Villanova moves to 16-13 on the season.

The Hawks return to action this Thursday at George Washington. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.

*** Photos from today's games available at www.sidephotos.com