The St. Andrews Presbyterian College softball team swept
Conference Carolinas rival Belmont Abbey College, 5-4 & 6-5, on
Wednesday afternoon on a pair of walk-off runs. The Lady
Knights move to 18-21 overall an 8-6 in the league. The Crusaders
maintain 9-31 and 3-15 ledgers.
Freshman Gina Antonucci led the Crusaders with four hits and two
RBI while senior Dani Beres knocked in a team-high three runs on a
trio of hits. Kailee Munden and sophomore Jasmine Dobbin both went
4-for-7 for the Royal Blue & White. Junior Nicole Bailey added
three hits for the Knights. Junior Sarah Applegarth picked up the
win in both games allowing one earned run over 11 1/3 innings of
work. Applegarth (13-8) had five strikeouts
In game one, Belmont Abbey scored two runs in the fourth inning
to take a 4-3 lead but the Knights tied the score in the fifth
inning and eventually won the opener, 5-4, in extra innings.
The Crusaders jumped to a two-run lead as the first four batters
of the game had base hits. Antonucci led off with a double to left;
senior Katie Hobbs followed with a bunt single; and Beres and
junior Tara Ruebel drove in the runs with back-to-back seeing-eyed
singles past the diving shortstop.
SAPC answered back and took their first lead with three runs in
the second. Bailey supplied a bunt single that drove in Munden and
junior Morgan Farroll followed with a two-run double down the left
field line.
The Abbey catapulted back into the lead with a pair of runs in
the fourth that was highlighted by a run producing double by Beres.
Antonucci had three hits and scored two runs while Beres had two
hits and two RBI.
Applegarth deadlocked the score at 4-4 with a double that scored
Dobbin, who led off the fifth with a bunt single.
After two scoreless innings, St. Andrews was able to keep
Belmont Abbey from scoring in the first extra frame. The Crusaders
sac bunted the international tiebreaker rule runner to third base
to start the eighth inning but Applegarth came up with a big
strikeout and then a groundout to extinguish the threat.
Applegarth was then placed on second base to start the eighth.
The Abbey was able to get the first two outs but Shurtleff ended
the game with a single through the left side that drove in
Applegarth.
In the nightcap, Belmont Abbey rallied from a three-run deficit
with four runs in the top of the seventh to take a one run lead but
St. Andrews fought back with two runs in the home half to complete
the sweep of Wednesday's twin bill with a 6-5 victory in the finale
that was capped by a sacrifice fly.
Munden started the scoring in the second inning with a triple to
deep right field and eventually scoring on a sacrifice fly by
Harris. After Belmont Abbey tied the game with an unearned run in
the top of the fourth, the Knights regained a lead on back-to-back
bombs to lead off the bottom of the fourth. Marquez crushed a
monstrous home run to left field and Munden followed with a deep
shot over the left-center field fence. Marquez has a team-high
seven home runs while Munden's long ball was her first homer of the
season.
St. Andrews added an extra run in the fifth inning on a sac fly
by Applegarth before the Crusaders rallied back with four runs in
their last at-bat. Antonucci started the scoring rally with a
two-run double to left. Hobbs followed with a triple to right that
scored Antonucci. Beres then tied the score with a single up the
middle that plated Hobbs.
The Knights answered by putting the first two batters on base
before an error loaded the bases for Capone, who then hit a fly
ball to center field that Dobbin was able to tag up on at third and
score the game-winning run. Dobbin was 2-for-3 with two runs and a
stolen base.