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Allegheny Sweeps Wash. & Jeff.
April 30, 2006
Game 1 Boxscore
Game 2 Boxscore
MEADVILLE, Pa. - The second consecutive strong pitching performance in as many games for Allegheny College senior Giannina Coccaro (Miami, Fla./Palmetto) (left) helped the Gators (19-19) to a victory in the first game, before the Blue and Gold erupted with an offensive outburst, winning the afternoon finale 13-3 over the Presidents of Washington and Jefferson College (22-15).
With the pair of wins, the Gators go to .500 for the first time since the fourth game of the season, when Allegheny was 2-2.
The first game was a pitching gem for both Coccaro and Rebecca Nachreiner of Washington & Jefferson, as the pair gave up just two hits through the first six and a half innings.
Coccaro, who pitched a no-hitter yesterday, went the first six and two-thirds of an inning without giving up a hit, but with two outs in the top of the seventh inning, catcher Hannah Schultz hit a home run just inside of the left field foul pole, giving the visitors a 1-0 lead and snapping the no-hitter and shutout bid, ending a streak of 21.2 scoreless innings for the senior.
Down to their last out of the game, freshman Rachel Ryan (West Salem, Ohio/Northwestern) doubled, and was driven in by sophomore catcher Crystal Ptacek (Allison Park/North Allegheny), knotting the game at one apiece.
After one and a half scoreless innings, the Gators threatened, as Abby Bodenlos (Pittsburgh/Shady Side Academy) doubled with one out before Ptacek was hit by a pitch two batters later. A wild pitch put runners on second and third with two outs before Coccaro helped her own cause with a base hit over the center fielder’s head, scoring Bodenlos and giving Allegheny the 2-1 win.
Ryan was 2-for-4 on the day for Allegheny, as Bodenlos, Ptacek and Coccaro had the team’s other three hits. Coccaro ended the game with nine strikeouts in the nine innings, walking one and scattering the two hits.
The second game started completely different for the Gators on offense, as the Blue and Gold as Liz Burr (Farmdale, Ohio/Badger) (right) led off the bottom of the first inning with a triple, before being driven in with a single from Sarah Piranian (Mars/North Allegheny), giving the Gators the 1-0 lead. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases, before Brittany Rechtin (Spring City/St. Pius X) hit a single up the middle, scoring Piranian, and giving the Blue and Gold a 2-0 lead after the first inning.
After a 1-2-3 inning in the second, the Gator offense attacked again, as Sarah Reilly (Dunkirk, N.Y.) reached via a bunt single and advanced to second on an over-run play, before being driven in by a double off the wall from Burr, giving the Gators a 3-0 lead. With Burr on third base after a groundout to second base, Bodenlos converted a successful suicide squeeze, scoring Burr and reaching first base. Three straight singled by Ryan, Rechtin and Coccaro pushed Bodenlos and Ryan across the plate, pushing the Gator advantage to 6-0.
The Gators added to their lead in the bottom of the third inning, when Burr walked and scored on a two-error play by the Presidents, putting Bodenlos on second with two outs. After a wild pitch moved Bodenlos to third, Ryan walked, putting runners on the corners. An error by the President’s shortstop scored Bodenlos, before Coccaro hit her first collegiate home run, driving in three and pushing the Allegheny advantage to 11-0 after three.
The President’s got their first run of the ballgame in the fourth inning, when, with runners on first and third, second baseman intentionally got herself into a run-down, while allowing Stacey Bugle to score, cutting the deficit to 10 at 11-1.
The Gators continued their offensive onslaught in the bottom of the fourth inning, as Reilly reached first with a one-out bunt single, before being driven in by Burr’s second double of the game. A Piranian single scored Burr, taking the Gator lead to 13-1 after four innings.
Washington and Jefferson mounted a comeback, scoring a pair of runs in the top of the fifth inning, when Stacey Bugle singled with the bases loaded, scoring Kelly Morrow and Melissa Metcalf.
Becca Rich (Gibsonia/North Allegheny) (bottom left) picked up the win, pitching four innings, and allowing no earned runs and giving up just one hit. Burr was 3-for-3 from the plate, scoring four times and driving in a pair, while Coccaro and Reilly were each 2-for-3. Coccaro drove in a team-high three runs in the win.
The final games for the Blue and Gold are on Tuesday, May 2, when the team travels to Berea, Ohio to face off against the Yellow Jackets of Baldwin-Wallace College with the first pitch set for 3:30 p.m.