April 28, 2010

Box Score

AMBLER, Pa. - Needing a pair of wins to help bolster its Atlantic 10 Championship bid, the Saint Joseph's softball team played arguably its most complete doubleheader of the season, blanking Temple 5-0 and 2-0 at the Owls' Ambler Campus Field on Wednesday.

In the opener, Saint Joseph's got on the board in the bottom of the second on heads-up base running. With two outs and runners at the corners, freshman Deanna Stinner broke for second base, only to see the throw down beat her. The Hawks' rookie intentionally got in a pickle, allowing sophomore Monica Aguilar to score from third before Temple could tag Stinner out.

Defensively, the Hawks' relied on seven-solid innings of pitching from sophomore Erin Gallagher as she scattered just three hits.

The Hawks (23-14, 7-5 Atlantic 10) added insurance runs in the bottom of the fourth, fifth and sixth. Freshman shortstop Rochelle Christman drilled a two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth, scoring senior Brooke Darreff to make it a 3-0 game.

Darreff added to SJU's lead the following inning with a RBI double that scored freshman Dana Parks.

Christman led off the bottom of the sixth with her second home run of the game, drilling solo shot over the right field wall to seal SJU's 5-0 victory.

On the mound, Gallagher moved to 18-7 overall and struck out four batters.

The second game showcased the Hawks' defense and pitching again, as starter Taryn Ashway and Gallagher combined to strike out seven.

The Owls (16-27, 5-9 A-10) threatened in several innings, leaving seven runners on base as Saint Joseph's had an answer each time.

Saint Joseph's plated the only two runs of the game in the bottom of the first. Parks scored from third on a wild pitch by Temple starter Kristen Marris, while junior Laura Cardone added the second run on a sacrifice fly by Aguilar.

Temple's best scoring chance came in the fifth. With a runner at first and two outs, Alysse Pujol singled to centerfield, but SJU took advantage of an Owl base-running error. On the hit, Marris ran threw a stop sign from the TU third base coach, with Cardone picking up the ball and gunning the ball to Aguilar at third to throw out Marris and end the inning.

The Owls' leadoff hitter reached in both the top of the sixth and seventh, but Gallagher, throwing in relief worked out of the jam to pick up her first save of the year.

Freshman pitcher Taryn Ashway picked up her fifth win of the season, allowing six hits, while striking six and issuing zero walks.

Saint Joseph's caps the home portion of its schedule Friday and Saturday against La Salle. The Hawks, who will serve as hosts for both games, will face the Explorers at 3 p.m. on Friday and noon on Saturday.

Game Notes: Saint Joseph's served as the home team for both of Wednesday's game...Gallagher's 18th win is one shy of matching the single-season mark for SJU...Christman is the first Hawk to have a multi-home run game this year.