Cards Go 1-1 Against Red Devils
CUA takes second game in eight innings for second doubleheader in a row

3/25/2008

WASHINGTON - The Catholic University softball team split with the Dickinson College Red Devils (9-7) Tuesday afternoon at the CUA Softball Field. The Cards dropped the first contest 7-3 but forced extra innings in the second for the 6-5 victory. With the split, the Cardinals move to 10-6 on the season as they prepare for a conference weekend.

The Red Devils went up 2-0 in the first and second innings on a homer and a CUA error. However, the bottom of the second proved error-filled for Dickinson as the Cards came back with a run thanks to a head's up play from Steph Clemente (Warren, N.J./Immaculata). The pitcher got on after an error by the second baseman and waited until the player had thrown to third to attempt to get the lead runner out before sprinting for second on the delayed steal. Sophie Gage (Baltimore, Md./Mount de Sales) then brought her in on a double down the left field line. Dickinson added two more in the third but so did CUA after a pair of hits from Kerry Convery (Carmel, N.Y./Mahopac) and Lynn Brown (Laurel, Md./Saint Vincent Pallotti). That would unfortunately be the last of the Cardinal scoring as the Red Devils went on to score three more runs making the final 7-3.

Gage was the lone Card with two hits going 2-3, the Cards had six hits as a team to Dickinson's seven. CUA also had three errors while the Red Devils committed just two. In the circle, Clemente took the loss despite three strikeouts.

As the weather turned colder, the teams' bats were the same. An error at second drove in Dickinson's first score but the Cards managed two in the bottom of the third off of a double by Heather Holley (Owings, Md./Northern). The Red Devils tied it in the top of the fourth and added two more in the top of the fifth after a disastrous inning for CUA that included three errors and as many walks. Going into the bottom of the seventh it looked as though DC would get by with the victory but the Cards generated a run to make the score 4-4. Stacie Goddard's (Nashua, N.H./Bishop Guertin) lead off single up the middle put her on first and a sacrifice bunt from Nicole Trasatti (Doylestown, Pa./CB East) moved her to second. Up came Convery who smashed a single down the right field line to force extra innings.

In the eighth, with a runner on second due to the tie breaker, the Red Devils scored after a CUA fielding error. The Cards started off the same way and moved runners around the bases despite two outs. Kelly Lukacs' (Chesterfield, N.J./Northern Burlington Regional) sacrifice fly tied it up and Kat Ager (Olney, Md./Good Counsel) gave CUA the win hitting a long single to right field to make the final 6-5.

Goddard and Betsy McNulty (Brightwaters, N.Y./Bay Shore) both went 2-3 at the plate to lead the Cardinals and Holley posted a team-high three RBI. CUA had eight hits while Dickinson managed five. Goddard also had the win in the circle with five strikeouts.

The Cards will travel to Drew University on Saturday for a Landmark Conference contest.