Marathon 11-Inning Win Gives Flashes 5-1 Weekend at Coastal Carolina
3/29/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
CONWAY, S.C. - Sophomore Clare Sullivan could not have picked a better time for her first career home run, as her pinch hit, 11th inning, three-run blast lifted Kent State (13-12) past tournament host Coastal Carolina Sunday. The Golden Flashes defeated St. John's earlier in the day 11-7, before outlasting the Chanticleers 7-3 in 11 frames.
"Everybody was super-excited for Clare," Head Coach Karen Linder said of Sullivan's second career at bat in the top of the 11th. "She had been out for a while with a broken hand and was doing one-arm swings with her back arm. I think that helped develop her arm strength."
Coastal Carolina forced extra innings when Stacy Snellings hit a two-out double in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game at 3-3. Kylie Reynolds and Chanticleer pitcher Ashley Frederick each held their ground through the next three innings despite having runners placed on second in the 10th inning.
In that bottom of the 10th with a runner on second, senior Leah Archual "made a really nice catch in center field," according to Linder, which kept the Flashes' hopes alive. KSU also got a critical defensive play in the eighth when catcher Jess Blanton laid out to make a diving grab with a runner on.
Sullivan was called on to pinch hit in the 11th with one out and runners on first and third. The three-run shot over the right center field fence gave KSU a 6-3 lead and was the fourth home run of the day for the Flashes.
"It says a lot about how far we've come mentally," Linder said of her team's efforts in extra innings.
Kent State's first three runs came in the top of the first on a homer by Jess Carmichael, her second of the day. Freshman starting pitcher Danielle Abernathy was strong for three innings, not allowing a hit or a run. She ran into trouble in the fourth, allowing a two-run homer and loading the bases, before Reynolds took over for the final 7.1 innings.
Much like its two games on Saturday, Kent State continued to score early and often in its opener. However, St. John's also struck early with a two-run double by Kacee Cox in the top of the first. Starting pitcher Markie Pozzuto was replaced by Maleeya Coleman in the first.
"Danielle and Maleeya are both making progress," Linder said of her two young pitchers.
In a repeat of Saturday's opener, Archual led off led off the KSU first with a single and Lauren Grimes homered. Beth Cinadr followed with a single and just like Saturday, Carmichael smashed a two-run homer in the first.
Already leading 4-2, the Flashes added three runs in the second. Archual started the inning with a single and Grimes followed with a double. A pair of walks, a passed ball and a hit-by-pitch contributed to the next two runs and a sacrifice fly by Blanton made it 7-2.
Archual and Grimes each recorded their third hits of the game by the third inning and moved over on a single by Cinadr. Two batters later, Ashlee Hein drove a single into left scoring Archual and Grimes and KSU led 9-2 after three.
The Red Storm came charging back in the fourth, scoring five runs on five hits. Senior Kylie Reynolds took over with two outs in the fourth and allowed just one hit in the final 3.1 innings. Reynolds earned her second save of the weekend and fourth of the season. She fanned seven of the 12 batters she faced.
KSU added two runs in the bottom of the fifth as Grimes, Carmichael and Hein all walked to load the bases for Mary Holt, who smacked a single to center. The Flashes out-hit the Storm 12-9. Archual, Grimes and Cinadr combined for eight hits and three walks. Grimes finished with six hits on the day and hit .545 on the six-game weekend.
"The top of our order really came through for us all weekend," Linder said. "They're seeing the ball well, they're making good decisions and they're getting into a comfort zone."
On the day, Reynolds hurled 10.2 innings, allowing one run on four hits with 20 strikeouts.
"In both games Kylie did a good job of shutting them down right away," Linder said.
After winning its last four games of the tournament, KSU has now won 12 of its last 15 and is above .500 for the first time all season.
The Golden Flashes are slated to open their 2010 home schedule Wednesday with a doubleheader against Penn State beginning at 3 p.m.
