Sacred Heart Outlasts Liberty, 3-2, in 8 Innings
3/12/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Liberty, playing in extra innings for the second game in a row, fell, 3-2, to Sacred Heart in eight innings, Saturday at Kamphuis Field at Liberty Softball Stadium.
With the win, Sacred Heart improves to 5-11 on the season, including 1-2 at the Liberty Softball Classic. The Lady Flames (10-13) are 2-2 at this weekend's tournament heading into tonight's 9 p.m. contest against La Salle.
Emily Orosco (2-1) earned the victory, allowing two runs, one earned on two hits. She struck out six and walked six.
Julia DiMartino (3-5) drew the loss, giving up three runs, two earned, on five hits. She struck out a career-high 13 batters, compared to just one walk. Her 13 strikeouts were the most by a Lady Flame since April 17, 2010, when Tiffani Smith struck out 14 Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs.
Lauren Delgadillo batted 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI, while Nicole Deissler hit 1-for-2 with two runs scored.
Mickey Loveridge and Tori Zavodny recorded one hit apiece, while Zavodny stole her 13th base of the season.
The Lady Flames went ahead with a one-out rally in the bottom of the second. Zavodny tripled, before Kassidy McCoy walked and Deidra See was hit by a pitch. Cassie Gingerich plated Zavodny with a bunt, for a 1-0 advantage. Alexia Taylor then popped out, ending the inning.
Sacred Heart tied the score in the third stanza. Deissler drew a walk with one out, and DiMartino then fanned McKenna Weigand. Delgadillo drove a double to the right-center gap, scoring Deissler. DiMartino struck out Hailey DesRosiers for the third out.
DiMartino kept a two-strikeouts-per-inning pace up, retiring the side with a pair of strikeouts and a popout in the fourth inning.
The Lady Flames got a two-out baserunner in the fifth, when Taylor drew a walk. Sarah Robertson grounded out, bringing the inning to a close.
Delgadillo reached on a two-base error to start the sixth frame. DiMartino set down the next three batters in order, including an inning-ending strikeout.
Liberty had a great scoring chance during the sixth inning, as Loveridge reached third on an error with one out. Orosco escaped the jam, striking out Rylee Reynolds, walking Zavodny and getting McCoy to fly out.
The Pioneers' D'Addario led off the seventh with a double to left center. A sacrifice bunt sent her to third, but DiMartino left her there, striking out Kristen McCann and getting Deissler to ground out.
After a 1-2-3 Liberty seventh, the game went into extra innings.
Sacred Heart pushed its international tie-breaker runner across, on a one-out single by Delgadillo. One out later, Kelyn Fillmore doubled to right center, making it 3-1. DiMartino then fanned Fallon Bevino for the third out.
Liberty manufactured one run in the bottom of the eighth. Robertson pushed Taylor to third with a sacrifice bunt, before Loveridge hit an RBI single. Orosco then induced a game-inning groundout by Reynolds, as Sacred Heart won, 3-2.
