May 8, 2008

Box Score

CHARLOTTE, NC - The Saint Joseph's softball team's 2008 season came to an end Thursday at the Atlantic 10 Championship as the Hawks fell to Fordham, 5-1, at Phillips Field. It was a memorable year for SJU, who made the conference postseason for the first time since 2005, with four Hawks earning Atlantic 10 individual honors, including Player of the Year Brooke Darreff.

Fordham (35-29) opened up a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a SJU error. With runners at first and second with one out, Saint Joseph's starting pitcher Dani Gonzales got Allison Storc to ground to third base. The Hawks were able to get the out at second, but in transition, the Hawks' second baseman committed the team's second error of the inning, allowing Forham's lead runner, Melissa Andrews, to score.

Jocelyn Dearborn's solo home run off Gonzales to lead off the second put the Rams up 2-0, but Saint Joseph's fought back to cut the deficit to 2-1 in the top of the fourth.

With two outs and a runner at first, Darreff drilled a double to left field, scoring junior Erika Rosenwinkel on the play.

Unfortunately for the Hawks, Fordham opened up the game with three runs in the bottom of the fifth to jump out to a 5-1 advantage. A two-run single by Storc chased Gonzales from the game for SJU, with the Rams adding another run on a Dearborn RBI-single.

Saint Joseph's offense wasn't able to generate much off Fordham starter Allison Twarowski over the final two innings, collecting only a hit as the Rams hung on for the win.

With the loss, the Hawks finish the season 19-23. Saint Joseph's also posted 11 wins in A-10 play, the most since it won 12 in 2002.

Individually, Gonzales was the hard-luck loser for SJU, finishing 12-12 on the year after allowing four runs over 4.1 innings. Senior Lauren Cognigni capped her career with 1.2 innings of work, allowing a run.

At the plate, Rosenwinkel and Darreff were the lone Hawks to collect a hit. Rosenwinkel finishes the season with Saint Joseph's single-season record for doubles with 19, while Darreff .461 batting average sets a new single-season record for the Hawks.