Stunned
ALMA, Mich. - Alma College's softball team was stunned Thursday with
doubleheader losses to rival Hope by scores of 5-2 and 4-3. Alma falls
to 17-9 on the season, 6-4 in MIAA action.
In game one, Hope got things started in the bottom of the second with a
leadoff homerun and a follow-up single from Rachel Tanouye. With two
outs on the board, an error by Megan Knochel (Pinconning) at third base
allowed Rachel Tanouye, to score.
Up 2-0, Hope led off with a Jessica Regnerus single and was moved to
second on the sacrifice. Another single moved Regnerus to third and
scored on an error to give Hope three runs, only one earned.
But the Scots were not laying down as Amy Gaudard (Mt. Pleasant) led
off the fourth with a single and Megan Colligan (Northville/Novi)
followed with a single of her own. A wild pitch moved the runners to
second and third and another wild pitch put Gaudard's pinch runner
Andrea Lunsted at the plate. Laura Bell (Walled Lake/Western) took
first on a walk and a Taylor Erwin (Fenton) single scored Erica Guitar
(Croswell-Lexington), pinch running for Colligan. Trista Geier, Emily
Blahnik and Sarah Seals got out in succession to end the inning.
Down by one run, Alma needed defense but Hope continued to generate runs, adding two more in the bottom of the fifth.
Pitching game one, Katie Koechling (Wheaton, Ill./North) threw six
innings, striking out four, allowing five runs - three earned on eight
hits to fall to 6-3 on the season.
Game two had Hope lead off with two runs in the first with Alma
answering in the bottom of the inning with a Megan Knochel single,
moving to second on an error in right field. Gaudard singled to put
runners at the corners before Colligan flied out, scoring Knochel
before Alma was out of the inning.
Hope put up two more runs in the top of the third and Alma again
answered with a Colligan solo shot to make the score 4-2 in favor of
the Flying Dutch.
In the fifth, Alma led off with Missy Morcom (Chelsea) single, followed
by a single from Knochel. An error in center field allowed Morcom to
score from second and move Knochel to second. Gaudard stepped in and
ground out to shortstop followed by a Colligan fly ball to right field.
Liana Easterby (Troy) ended the inning when she was caught looking.
Alyssa Gooch (Charlotte) threw 2.1 innings, allowing four runs - three
earned - and five hits while Kay McDonald (Rosebush/Mt. Pleasant) threw
4.2 innings, striking out four and scattering three hits.
Alma continues MIAA play when it travels to Adrian for a make-up game this Saturday.
Posted: Thu, April 13th, 2006 at 8:09PM
