Softball Plays Pair of Ten Inning Games With St. Anselm: Wins First 1-0, Game Two Ends in 7-7 Tie Due to Darkness

Wild Tuesday Doubleheader Leaves Bulldogs With Win and Tie

April 22, 2008             Game 1 Box / Game 2 Box

Smithfield, RI - After 20 innings were played in nearly five hours, the Bryant Bulldogs had taken a crucial Northeast-10 victory and capped a wild second game with a two-run, four run tenth inning to snag a tie as the sun went down at the Bulldog Softball Complex.

Senior Janine Enos (Wareham, Mass.) was dominant in the circle. Allowing just five hits in ten innings. Enos (13-4) also struckout a season-high 13 batters. Her fourth strikeout of the afternoon, a third inning whiff of Theresa Foley, was the 386th of her career, which passed Nicole Keene into first place on the all-time Bryant list.

Enos is now the Bulldogs' all-time strikeout leader

However, the Bulldogs were unable to give Enos any run support for nine full innings as Hawks' starter Katie Corey matched Enos zero for zero. A great running catch from left fielder Regi Burdo (Wayne, PA) and a diving stab by third baseman Jessica Valentini (Cliffside Park, NJ) preserved the tie in the top of the tenth before Bulldogs finally broke through on Corey in the bottom of the inning.

Jennifer Serrano (Stoneham, Mass) was placed on second to start the inning under the International Tie-Breaker rule and was moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Stephanie Mirando (North Haven, CT) before Anne Dobmeier (Buffalo, NY) ended the game with a deep fly ball off the top of the wall in right center field.

It was the third hit of the day for Dobmeier, who had also doubled twice. Kate Thomas (Bedford, NH) also knocked two hits in the game.

Game two, like the first, remained scoreless through four innings as Samantha Houseal (Mount Joy, PA) and Megan Lemire battled. The Bulldogs finally broke through in the fifth when Kim Breton (Leominster, Mass.) beat out an infield hit, and Ali Chouinard (Swansea, Mass.)came accross after the ball was bobbled by first baseman Nicole Baginski.

However, the Hawks answered right back when Lemire launched a deep three-run homer over the left centerfield fence that put the Hawks up 3-1, which remained the score until the bottom of the seventh.

In the seventh, a single by Serrano knocked in pinch-runner Jenna Jeffrey (Scarborough, ME) and Serrano was driven in by Mirando to tie the score at three.

The Hawks broke through on an exhausted Houseal in the tenth, pushing accross three runs on the freshman and another on reliever Renee Chapman (Fairfax, CA) to give St. Anselm a commanding four run lead with the sun setting quickly.

But the Bulldogs wouldn't quit. With a runner on third and two outs, Dobmeier and Thomas drew walks before Valentini singled in Breton, who had been placed at second to start the frame. The next batter, Chouinard, laced a bases-clearing double to tie the score. Lemire would preserve the tie when she stabbed a sharp grounder up the middle by catcher Ashley Coon (Levittown, PA) to retire the side.

Because of the darkness, the game was called and the game goes into the record books as a tie for each team. Chouinard was the offensive player of the game in the second. In addition to her three RBI double to save the game, she was 4 of 5 with a run scored.

Houseal went 9.1 innings, allowing six earned runs and striking out a career high 13 batters. Chapman retired two batters and allowed a run in her third appearance of the year.

The Bulldogs return to action Saturday with a home doubleheader with Assumption. First pitch is scheduled for 12pm.