Cougar Bats Propel Softball to Two Wins
KISSIMMEE, Fla. (3/18/08) -
The Kean University softball team scored a combined 19 runs and had
29 hits in victories over Trinity College (Conn.) and Massachusetts
College of Liberal Arts on Tuesday afternoon, improving the Cougars
to 9-1 this season.
GAME ONE: Cougars Pound Out 14 Hits in 8-4 Victory Over
Trinity
Senior shortstop Johanna Hedler (South Plainfield,
N.J.) was 3-of-4 with two runs scored, while senior third
baseman Kara Schultz (Clinton, N.J.) drove in a
team-high four runs to lead the Cougars to an 8-4 victory over
Trinity College (Conn.).
After Trinity took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning,
the Cougars tied the game in the bottom half when junior
Sara Steinman (Springfield, N.J.) scored on an
error, after singling earlier in the inning.
Kean took the lead for good with three runs in the third
inning. Hedler (pictured right) led things off with a triple
to right field, and would score the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly
by Schultz three batters later. The Cougars added runs on RBI
singles by seniors Katie Hicks (Medford Lakes,
N.J.) and Vicki Lanza (Edison,
N.J.).
An inning later, the Cougars added two more runs on a RBI single
by Schultz to score Hedler and junior left fielder Jesse
Buchanan (Washington Twp., N.J.) for the 6-1 lead.
Trinity cut the lead to 6-4 in the top of the sixth inning on
back-to-back homeruns, before the Cougars added a pair of insurance
runs in the bottom half of the inning to put the final score at
8-4.
Schultz (pictured left) finished 2-of-3 with a double to go along
with her four RBI, while Steinman scored a team-high three runs and
went 2-of-3 at the plate. Sophomore designated player Allison
Thibault (Garfield, N.J.) also added a pair of hits, going 2-of-3
on the afternoon.
On the mound, rookie Courtney Smyth (Abington,
Pa.) scattered nine hits in five innings of work to earn
her fifth victory of the season, while classmate Jess
Mattos (Carteret, N.J.) picked up the save in relief,
allowing no runs and three hits.
GAME TWO: Lanza, Steinman Lead Cougar Offensive Attack
Junior Sara Steinman was a perfect 3-of-3 and senior catcher
Vicki Lanza drove in a team-high five runs to lead the Cougars to
an 11-2 victory over Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts on
Tuesday afternoon.
In the top of the first inning, senior Johanna
Hedler and junior Jesse Buchanan
(pictured right) each singled to start the game and would score on
a sacrifice fly by senior first baseman Katie
Hicks and an RBI single by Lanza for the early 2-0 lead.
After MCLA got a run back in the bottom half of the first, the
Cougars added three runs in the second inning to extend the lead to
5-1. In the inning, Hedler singled and would score on a RBI
single by Buchanan. Steinman followed with a two-run homerun
to straight-away centerfield for her first round-tripper of the
year.
The Cougars tacked on two runs in the fifth and four in the
sixth inning for the nine-run, six-inning victory.
On the mound, sophomore Cassie Shotwell (Dunellen,
N.J.) went the distance, earning her second victory of the
year with four strikeouts and allowing just four hits.
Steinman finished a perfect 3-of-3 with three runs scored and
two RBI, while Lanza was 3-of-4 with a team-high five RBI and one
run scored. Hedler and Buchanan each added two hits and two
runs scored, and Hicks was 2-of-3 with one run scored and one RBI.
The Cougars return to action on Thursday, March 20, when they
travel to Clermont, Fla., to take on Bethel University and
Concordia University (Wis.).
