May 13, 2010

Box Score

AMHERST, Mass. - For the second day in a row, Saint Joseph's sophomore pitcher Erin Gallagher baffled Saint Louis batters as the Hawks topped the Billikens, 2-0, to remain alive in the Atlantic 10 Softball Tournament. Saint Joseph's, which improved to 29-17 on the year with the win, will now face third-seed Charlotte in an elimination game at 2 p.m. at the UMass Softball Complex on Friday.

After falling to top-seeded Massachusetts 3-0 earlier in the day, Saint Joseph's set up rematch of Wednesday's A-10 opener against Saint Louis. The Hawks, who won their previous matchup with the Billikens 5-2 in 11 innings, needed a win to stay in the hunt for the conference crown.

Gallagher made sure Saint Joseph's would continue its quest as she held Saint Louis hitless over the first five innings.

The Hawks scored their first run in the top of the fifth on a fielding error by Saint Louis shortstop Brittney Schmidt. With pinch runner Lauren Boyce at third, freshman Deanna Stinner's hard shot was misplayed by the Billikens' defender, allowing Boyce to score and give Saint Joseph's a 1-0 lead.

The lead grew to 2-0 in the sixth inning as SJU got to Saint Louis starter Hannah Huebbe again. Following a one-out double by sophomore second baseman Bernadette Moran, senior catcher Brooke Darreff singled down the right field line, allowing Moran to score an insurance run

Gallagher would do the rest to close out the win. Despite giving up a one-out double in the bottom of the sixth, Gallagher induced a ground out to end the threat.

Saint Louis (30-26-1) had a chance to win the game in the bottom of the seventh, but the Hawks' sophomore third baseman Monica Aguilar made a key defensive play to preserve the win. With runners at first and second and two outs, Alyson Brand stepped into the batter's box as the potential winning run for the Billikens. Swinging at the first pitch, Brand hit a screaming liner down the third base line that Aguilar snared for the final out of the game.

Individually, Gallagher allowed just two hits, while striking out two in the complete-game shutout victory. Improving to 24-8 overall, Gallagher allowed just six Saint Louis hits over 18 innings during the A-10 Tournament, holding the Billikens to a .100 team batting average.

At the plate, Darreff went 2-for-3 with a RBI, while Moran, Aguilar, junior Taylor Korpita and sophomore Alaina Loguidice each collected a hit.

Huebbe fell to 15-13 with the loss, while Kelly Flanagan and Kristin Nicoletti collected the lone Saint Louis hits.