University of North Florida
Valdosta State
Late homers propel Lady Ospreys
3/10/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball
VALDOSTA, Ga. (March 9, 2005) - The University of North Florida softball team conjured up a little magic in the final three innings of a doubleheader sweep of Valdosta State on Wednesday at the VSU Softball Complex.
Freshman shortstop Ashley Parenteau hit a three-run home run with two on, two outs and two strikes against her in the bottom of the seventh inning to force extra innings with the Blazers, before fellow freshman Gwen Williams won the game with a two-run home run in the ninth.
North Florida won the nightcap 5-3 after making sure the opener was a little less dramatic, winning the contest 7-2.
"In the first game we came out ready to play," UNF head coach Sonya Wilmoth said. "The second game we didn't swing the bats. The two out, two-strike home run was clutch. That's what turned it around."
The Lady Ospreys (14-4) trailed 3-0 heading into the top of the seventh in game two after VSU (3-18) scored a run in the second and added two more in the fourth on a Meghann Williams home run.
Gwen Williams reached on a one-out walk in the top of the seventh and moved to second when Katie Field singled. Dyann Busse followed with a strikeout, setting the stage for Parenteau, who delivered a 2-2 pitch over the fence in right center to tie the game 3-3.
Williams finally put the game away in the ninth with a two-run home run to left.
The home runs were the first of the season for both Williams and Parenteau.
Tori Ahern (8-2) came on to close out the game for the Lady Ospreys with two innings of perfect relief. Randalyn Rogers threw three complete innings for UNF, holding the Blazers scoreless on two hits. Elske ten Hoope (2-6) suffered the loss for VSU.
UNF only had one hit going into the fifth inning in the opener, but exploded for five runs in the inning. Caitlin Miller started the scoring with a double to left that hit the top of the fence on the fly and bounced back into the field of play. That play scored Busse to give UNF a 1-0 lead. Miller later came around to score when Williams singled to center.
Parenteau, Laura Hanstein and Kelli Rutenbar drove home runs to complete the Lady Osprey scoring in the fifth.
UNF added two more to its total in the sixth inning when Miller led off the inning with a double and scored on an error by Blazer center fielder Lindsey Lloyd. Williams finished the scoring when she drove home Field with an RBI single.
Williams finished the game 2-for-2 at the plate with a run and two RBIs, while Miller was 3-for-3.
VSU finally halted Alisha Phillips' 22-inning scoreless streak when Robin Williams hit a two-run home run to left to make it a 7-2 ball game. That's all Phillips (5-2) allowed, throwing six complete innings, giving up one walk and striking out four.
Kelli Pitts came on in the seventh inning for the Lady Ospreys, holding the Blazers scoreless to close out the game.
Amanda Edwards (1-7) suffered the loss in the pitching circle for VSU.
The Lady Ospreys will take Thursday off before heading to Florence, S.C., for the Patriot Invitational this weekend
