Stevens Swept at La Verne in 2013 Opener
Mark Becker
LA VERNE, Calif. (March 10, 2013) – The Stevens Institute of Technology softball team dropped a pair of games to open the season at the University of La Verne on Sunday afternoon. The Ducks surrendered an early lead in the first game, falling 9-1, and never got things going in the second, which ended 19-0.
La Verne improves to 12-4 on the year while Stevens starts the season 0-2.
La Verne 9, Stevens 1
Freshman left fielder
Gavriella Risman-Jones (New Boston, N.H.) showed off her blazing speed on the base paths in the top of the first inning. In her first collegiate at-bat, she legged out an infield single and promptly stole both second and third base, finally scoring on a single by freshman right fielder
Kelsey Dempsey (Broomfield, Colo.) to put the Ducks up, 1-0.
La Verne responded with a leadoff triple from sophomore shortstop Danielle Vela (Whittier, Calif.), who scored on a double in the next at-bat to tie the game. The Leopards picked up two more runs on a homer by freshman starting pitcher Katherine Kibbe (Rohnert Park, Calif.) and added a fourth on a two-out single before Stevens could get out of the inning. The Leopards tacked on another five runs, four of which were unearned, in the bottom of the second inning to take a commanding eight-run lead.
Freshman outfielder
Sydney Spitz (Shelton, Conn.) led off the top of the third inning with a single and immediately advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt, but the Ducks could not muster anything else, falling 9-1 in five innings.
Sophomore pitcher
Brianna Sandone (Haddon Township, N.J.) surrendered the nine runs, only five of which were earned, in the circle for the Ducks. After struggling early, she did not allow a single hit over the final eight batters, giving up just one walk.
Vela went 1-2 with a walk, triple and two runs scored for the Leopards while sophomore second baseman Rachel Hong (Huntington Beach, Calif.) was 2-3 with a double, two runs and one RBI. Kibbe picked up the five-inning complete game victory, surrendering just one earned run on two hits while striking out six.
La Verne 19, Stevens 0
Junior shortstop
Danielle DeFeo (Andover, N.J.) led off the second game with a walk and stole second two batters later. Senior catcher
Clair Strom (El Paso, Texas) drew a walk to put runners on first and second base with two outs, but the inning ended before either could advance further.
The Leopards matched the Ducks with a leadoff walk of their own in the bottom of the first inning. A sacrifice bunt moved the runner to second base and a triple put La Verne up 1-0. The Leopards loaded the bases and scored two runs on a pair of walks and two hit-by-pitches, then scored two more on a single to go up 5-0. Another walk loaded the bases again, but this time senior starting pitcher
Molly Herforth (Pompton Plains, N.J.) got out of trouble, coaxing a groundout to third base.
Herforth singled in the top of the second for Stevens’ first hit of the game, but with two outs already on the board the Ducks could not muster anything. La Verne added only one run in the bottom of the second, but after a 1-2-3 top of the third for Stevens, the Leopards exploded for 13 runs in the third inning and struck out the final six Ducks to win, 19-0.
Vela was 2-2 with a double, two walks, two runs and three RBI while junior designated player Raven Freret (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) went 2-2 with a double, triple, two runs and two RBI and junior third baseman Candice Nunez (San Dimas, Calif.) finished 2-4 with one run and four RBI. Hong gave up one hit and two walks, striking out four hitters, while sophomore Rebecca Ho (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) struck out the side in her only inning of work to end the game.
Head Coach Erica Mehalick and the Ducks will continue their 10-game Golden State slate tomorrow, Monday, March 11 with a doubleheader at Chapman University (11-2), which received votes in the Week 2 National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III Top 25 Poll. Game times are set for 4 and 6 p.m. Pacific Time (7 and 9 p.m. Eastern).
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