Nazareth Secures First Win
KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Nazareth secured its first softball win of the 2011 season Tuesday as the Golden Flyers scored twice in the fifth inning of a 4-2 win over Framingham State. Earlier in the day, the Golden Flyers suffered another tough defeat, falling to College of St. Benedict, 2-0.
Nazareth is off Wednesday, but plays two more games Thursday with a 1-5 overall record.
With the game tied 2-2 against Framingham State, Nazareth scored a pair of unearned runs to take the victory. Freshman Kailey Ritch reached on an error and advanced to third on a pair of infield grounders. She scored on a single by Casey Mathers. After a walk to Rebecca Sadler, both runners moved up on a wild pitch and Mathers later scored on a single by freshman Claire Campbell.
That was all the assistance that junior pitcher Kelly Kocher needed as she retired the Rams in order in the fifth and sixth inning and then worked out of a jam in the seventh to gain the win. In the seventh, the Rams' first two batters reached on a walk and a hit by pitch respectively. Kocher retired the next three hitters, including the last batter on her 12th strikeout, to end the game.
Ritch also scored Nazareth's first run in the first inning after reaching on a walk. She advanced on singles by Kaitlin Graham and Brittany Patenaude and advanced home on an error by the Rams' rightfielder. Nazareth scored again the second after a lead-off double by Mandy Weakley. She advanced to third on a sacrifice by Jen Durso and scored on a sacrifice fly by Kasey Pollot.
Against St. Benedict, Mathers took a tough-luck pitching loss despite allowing just four hits and strikeing out five over seven innings. The game was scoreless until the seventh when St. Bendict scored both of its runs on two of its four hits.
Nazareth had six hits, including two singles by Graham. The Golden Flyers' best scoring chance came in the bottom of the seventh. With Durso on second with two outs, Pollot singled, but Durso was thrown out trying to score to end the game. Nazareth also left runners stranded at second base in the third, fourth and sixth innings.