Softball Defeats St. Norbert,
Falls to Allegheny
KISSIMMEE, Fla. (3/17/09) -
The Kean University softball team split in action at the Rebel
Spring Games, defeating St. Norbert College, 5-2, in the opener,
before falling to Allegheny College, 6-0, in the nightcap.
GAME ONE: Shotwell, Homeruns Power Kean Past St.
Norbert, 5-2
Junior right-hander Cassie Shotwell (Dunellen,
N.J.) earned the complete game victory and junior
Allison Lizzi (Cherry Hill, N.J.) and senior
Jesse Buchanan (Washington Twp., N.J.) each
homered to lead the Cougars past St. Norbert, 5-2, in the opener.
The Cougars got on the board first with back-to-back one-out
doubles in the fifth inning to take a 1-0 lead. With no one
on and one out, senior right fielder Nikki Castagno (Staten
Island, N.Y.) sent one to the right-center fence for her
second double of the season. Senior second baseman
Sara Steinman (Springfield, N.J.) followed with
one to nearly the same spot to score Castagno for the 1-0
advantage.
St. Norbert took the lead in the bottom half of the inning,
taking advantage of three hits and one Kean errorto score a pair of
runs. Senior left-fielder Kim Sawyer (Egg Harbor,
Wis.) and junior catcher Brieanne Oehlke (Freemont,
Wis.) each had RBI singles in the inning for the Green
Knights.
The next two innings saw the Cougars score a pair of runs in
each inning. In the top of the sixth inning, Lizzi (pictured
right) homered to left field to tie the game, and after Shotwell
doubled, sophomore Katie Yard (Hillsborough, N.J.)
followed with an RBI single to give the Cougars the lead for good.
Buchanan provided the insurance runs in the top of the seventh
inning, hitting her first career homerun with a two-run blast to
centerfield to score Steinman, who had led the inning off with a
single.
Shotwell earned her third victory of the season, scattering
eight hits and five strikeouts, while allowing no earned runs.
At the plate, Steinman was the lone Cougars with a multi-hit
game, finishing 2-of-3 with one run scored and one RBI.
GAME TWO: Allegheny Blanks Kean,
6-0
Senior Rachel Ryan (West Salem, Ohio) was 2-of-4 with
three RBI to lead Allegheny to the 6-0 shutout victory over the
Cougars.
The Gators scored three runs in the third inning when sophomore
Marci Potuzko (Greenburg, Pa.) had an RBI single and
scored one batter later on a two-run homerun by Ryan.
In the fifth inning, Allegheny added an insurance run after taking
advantage of a Cougar error for the 4-0 lead, and the Gators would
later extend the lead to 6-0 with two runs in the seventh inning,
including an RBI triple by Ryan.
On the mound for the Gators, sophomore Amanda Downey (Essex
Junction, Vt.) earned the victory, allowing three hits and
striking out six Cougars.
For the Cougars, five different players recorded hits.
Junior Cassie Shotwell (pictured left) scattered
four hits and three runs in the final four innings in relief, while
striking out seven batters.
Kean returns to action on Thursday, March 19, facing Westminster
College (3 p.m.) and Illinois Wesleyan University (5 p.m.).
