Gators Even Record with Sweep of Kenyon

Apr 14, 2007

Game 1 Box | Game 2 Box

MEADVILLE, Pa. – The Allegheny College Gators completed a weekend conference sweep after taking two from Kenyon College on Saturday afternoon. The Gators, now 11-11 on the year, won all four games in the weekend after beating Wooster the day before in a pair of contests. Allegheny never trailed on Saturday, winning the first game 5-4 before taking the nightcap 5-0 improving their North Coast Athletic Conference record to 6-0.

The opening game started as a pitchers duel, with neither Allegheny’s Alicia Morley (Sinclairville, N.Y./Cassadaga Valley) nor Kenyon’s Stephanie Hemmingson allowing a run through the first three and a half innings of the contest. Allegheny struck first in their half of the fourth inning when Elizabeth Burr (Farmdale, Ohio/Badger) hit the first home run of her career to give the Blue and Gold a 1-0 lead.

After setting down the Ladies in order in the top of the fifth, the Allegheny bats exploded, scoring three runs, all with two outs. Rebecca Burns (Rogersville, Pa./West Greene) singled in Sarah Reilly (Dunkirk, N.Y./Dunkirk), and after loading the bases on a walk and a misplayed fielder’s choice, Burr doubled, scoring Rachel Ryan (West Salem, Ohio/Northwestern) and Burns, giving the Gators a 4-0 advantage.

Kenyon fought back, adding three runs in their next at-bat, cutting the deficit to one at 4-3, before the Blue and Gold added a cushion when Crystal Ptacek (Allison Park, Pa./North Allegheny) singled, scoring Stephanie Lasinski (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland), and giving the Gators their final run total of five. An RBI single in the top of the seventh inning was all that the Ladies could muster, as the visitors left runners stranded on first and third to end the game.

Burr was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate for the Gators, driving in a trio of runs, while Abby Bodenlos (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shady Side Academy) and Burns were each 2-for-3. In all, seven of the nine Allegheny batters had a hit in the game, as each of the five runs were scored by a different player. Morley pitched the entire game, striking out four, giving up three earned runs and walking just one.

The Gators used their momentum gained at the end of the first game to carry over into a two-run first inning of the second, with both runs coming when Ryan, who hit two home runs a day ago, added her third longball of the weekend, driving in herself and Ptacek, who reached on a single. Allegheny added three runs in the second inning, two coming on a Bodenlos double that scored Reilly and Allison Burr (Farmdale, Ohio/Badger), and the last coming when Burns singled in Bodenlos.

The rest of the game was a pitchers duel, with Allegheny’s Allison Korotkin (Birmingham, Mich./Detroit Country Day), the defending NCAC Pitcher of the Week, pitching a gem, scattering two hits over seven innings, striking out two and walking three, picking up her second conference shutout of the season.

Bodenlos was 3-for-4 from the plate, taking her to 5-for-7 on the day, while Elizabeth Burr was 2-for-3, improving to 5-for-6 over the two contests.

With the sweep, Allegheny evens its record for the first time since the first day of the season, and taking a conference-leading 6-0 record into the next week in which they host Hiram and then travel for back-to-back games at Denison and Ohio Wesleyan.

The next scheduled game for the Gators is on Tuesday, April 17, when the team plays host to the Spartans of Case Western Reserve University, with the first pitch set for 3:30 p.m.

Printable Version