University of North Florida
Stetson
Defensive gems help UNF earn split
4/20/2008 6:54:35 PM | Softball
Rutenbar drives home winning runs in nightcap
Game 2 Box
The Lady Ospreys (38-23, 12-8 A-Sun) bounced back from a 1-0 loss in the opener to defeat the Hatters (37-20, 11-8 A-Sun) 2-1 in the nightcap.
UNF's pitching staff allowed only two runs on the day, giving up seven hits overall in 13 innings of work.
Stetson collected its first hit of the nightcap off of UNF's Tori Ahern in the bottom of the fifth when Amy Joyce doubled to left center. Joyce was quickly erased when she tried to stretch that hit into a triple, as Kara Rutenbar's throw from the fence nailed Joyce, helping Ahern retire the second hitter in the inning.
That throw fired up the Lady Osprey offense, which plated a pair of runs the next half inning, their first of the day. Rutenbar came through again, this time at the plate, where she delivered a double that drove home Kacie McCloud and Laura Williams. McCloud led off the inning with a base hit before Williams reached on a walk. Ashley Parenteau moved both of them into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt before Rutenbar came through with her double.
“Kara hits the ball hard and when she drove home those runs, I knew Tori was throwing well and we had a chance. She just made one bad pitch today,” UNF head coach Sonya Wilmoth said.
That pitch came in the bottom of the sixth when Blythe Golden homered to left with two outs. The Hatters loaded the bases after that, but Gwen Williams was able to track down a foul ball off the bat of pinch hitter Katie Lawrence, while fighting to avoid the fence in right field, to end the Stetson threat.
“Those are the types of plays our defenders make all the time,” Wilmoth said. “I get to see those plays every day.”
Ahern (17-8) took care of the rest for the Lady Ospreys, giving up a walk in the bottom of the seventh, but not allowing another run to reach in finishing the game for UNF. She surrendered four hits in all, striking out one.
UNF couldn't get any offense going in the opener, falling 1-0 after mustering three hits.
Stetson's Erica Demers outdueled Devyn Findley, as each pitcher allowed only three hits. Stetson's offense, however, produced a run in the bottom of the third inning when Lindsay Whitman drove home Nicole Forbes with a two-out single to left-center.
Findley had UNF's only hit before the seventh inning of play. UNF rallied in the final inning when Lauren Pulling punched a single to center, which McCloud followed up with a single of her own to left. Ashley Parenteau came to the plate two batters later and put a drive into a ball to center field, but it wasn't enough to get by Joyce, who made the catch for the final out of the contest.
Findley (20-12) struck out six, while Demers fanned seven in the win.
UNF has one doubleheader remaining this season when it travels to
