Gators Split Again in Florida

Mar 22, 2007

Bridgewater State Box | Baptist Bible Box

KISSIMMEE, Fla. – The Allegheny College Gators split a pair of games on Thursday, falling to Bridgewater State 1-0 before picking up a 4-1 win over Baptist Bible. Allegheny pitcher Alicia Morley (Sinclairville, N.Y./Cassadaga Valley) pitched all 14 innings for the Gators, scattering 12 hits and striking out 10, allowing just two runs on the day.

The opening game started as a pitchers duel, with Morley, a freshman, and Bridgewater State’s Alyssa Verronneau, a sophomore, going pitch-for-pitch with each other. Neither team was able to push a run across the plate until the Bears got a run in the top of the fifth inning, scoring on a groundout to second base, giving the visitors on the scoreboard a lead by the slimmest of margins.

Bridgewater State kept their lead for the remainder of the game, despite the Gators threatening in the bottom of the seventh inning, when Rebecca Burns (Rogersville, Pa./West Greene) doubled down the left field line with two outs, but could not make it across the plate in the one-run loss.

Verronneau was nearly un-hittable, as the Gators managed just two base knocks on the day, one from Burns the other from junior Crystal Ptacek (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny). Morley was equally as impressive, scattering six hits and striking out three, giving up just the solitary run in the loss, dropping her record to 2-7 on the season.

In the second game of the day, against the Baptist Bible Defenders, the Gators, the visitors on the scoreboard, wasted no time in reaching the scoring column as Elizabeth Burr (Farmdale, Ohio/Badger) led off the game with a walk before driven by a Rachel Ryan (West Salem, Ohio/Northwestern) triple, giving the Blue and Gold a 1-0 lead. The Gators doubled the lead in the third inning when Sarah Reilly (Dunkirk, N.Y./Dunkirk) led off the inning with a bunt single, stole second and third base, and was driven in with a Burr sacrifice fly.

The Defenders ended Morley’s shutout bid in the fifth inning when Heather Stamper walked, and then scored after a Christel Gould double. The Gators followed by using strong hitting and some lack of defense by the Defenders to put two more runs on the scoreboard. After a fly-out to start the inning, Katie Wills (McKees Rocks, Pa./Montour) reached on an error by the first baseman. Abby Bodenlos (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shady Side Academy) followed by reaching on another error by the first basemen, advancing Wills to third. Bodenlos then forced herself into a run-down, allowing Wills to score, while reaching first base. Following a Bodenlos steal, Ryan singled, putting runners on the corners. Burns followed with a double, scoring Bodenlos, ending the scoring in the game for the Gators.

Ryan was the lone Gator to record multiple hits, going 2-for-4 on the day, as six others had hits in the contest. Morley scattered six hits, striking out seven and giving up just the one run.

The Gators close out their spring trip tomorrow (March 23), when they will face off against Wellesley at 11:00 a.m. and Hamilton at 3:00 p.m.

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