Pitching Dominates on Day 2 of Softball Championships

2012 Horizon League Softball Championships Bracket

Softball Championships Scoreboard:
(5) Butler 6, (1) Valparaiso 1
(2) Loyola 2, (6) Green Bay 0
(4) Youngstown State 8, (6) Green Bay 4
(1) Valparaiso 3, (3) UIC 0

VALPARAISO, Ind. – Butler continued its roll, setting up a winner’s bracket championship game against a Loyola squad that received a historic effort in its win. Meanwhile, Youngstown State and Valparaiso will battle in the loser’s bracket after they survived elimination games on Thursday night at the Valparaiso Softball Field.

(5) Butler 6, (1) Valparaiso 1
Butler catcher Mallory Winters drew the go-ahead walk just ahead of Callie Dennison’s game-breaking two-run single in the fifth inning as the fifth-seeded Bulldogs knocked off No. 1 seed Valparaiso, 6-1, in the second day of the Horizon League Softball Championships.

With the win, Butler (25-30) sets up a winner’s bracket championship against No. 2 Loyola at 2:30 p.m. ET on Friday.

After the teams traded runs in the second, the Bulldogs broke the game open in the fifth. Four straight walks culminated with Winters driving in Meaghan Sullivan on a 3-2 pitch after Valparaiso had replaced starter Alex Lagesse (18-9) with Shaleigh Jansen.

With the bases still loaded, Dennison drove Jansen’s offering into right field, with Erin Falkenberry and Lauren McNulty crossing the plate to extend Butler’s lead to 4-1.

The Bulldogs would plate two more in the sixth, as Kayla Gray led off the inning with a walk before pinch hitter Megan Gray singled up the middle to put runners on first and second. A bunt by Kristen Boros loaded the bases, but Valparaiso seemingly caught a break when Sullivan grounded to third.

However, Joylyn Ichiyama-Drewry’s throw home was wide of the plate, allowing Gray to score. McNulty closed the scoring with a sacrifice fly.

Breanna Fisher (6-9) settled down after allowing Valparaiso to tie the game in the second inning, scattering five hits. Fisher did not walk a batter and struck out four on the afternoon.

(2) Loyola 2, (6) Green Bay 0
Loyola sophomore Brittany Gardner backed up her Horizon League Pitcher of the Year accolade, twirling the sixth complete game no-hitter in Horizon League Championship history to lead the Ramblers past Green Bay, 2-0, on Thursday afternoon.

Gardner (17-9) was effectively wild, walking five but striking out eight in tossing the first no-hitter in the League Tournament since 2006. Loyola (25-21) became the first higher seed to win a game at the 2012 tournament, setting up a winner’s bracket game with Butler at 2:30 p.m. ET on Friday.

The closest the lefthander came to losing the no-hitter came in the third, when second baseman Jessica Balzano could not handle Amanda Omahen’s one-hopper, resulting in a fielding error. Gardner worked around the miscue by getting a ground out and popup to end the inning.

Green Bay (23-27) was victimized by errors throughout the game, none more costly than two in the second inning. Lauren Zaworski skied a fly ball to left that Danielle Peerenboom dropped, sending Zaworski to second.

A single by Olivia Bell put runners at the corners with two outs, and when Bell broke for second, catcher Shannon Butts’ throw caromed off of Bell and into the outfield, allowing Zaworski to come home.

Zaworski would provide an insurance run in the sixth, driving a homer to center through the teeth of a wind blowing in off the lake.

Gardner walked two Phoenix batters in the seventh, but struck out Jessica Hrncar for the inning’s second out before Ashleigh Racer popped to Zaworski to wrap up the no-hitter.

(4) Youngstown State 8, (6) Green Bay 4
The top hitting team in the Horizon League, Youngstown State saw its bats get hot at the right time as the Penguins knocked off No. 6 Green Bay, 8-4, in the first elimination game of the Horizon League Softball Championship.

Youngstown State (29-20-1) will take on host Valparaiso in an elimination game at 12 p.m. EST on Friday.

For the second straight game, Green Bay (23-28) was undone by errors, as a missed catch to start the bottom of the second inning led to four unearned runs. Sarah Gabel led off the inning by reaching on the error, and with runners at first and second and two outs, Horizon League Player of the Year Haley Thomas stroked a double to the fence in left-center to knot the game at 2.

Caroline Krombach followed with a comebacker to Green Bay pitcher Ashely Nanneman, who bobbled the ball, allowing Krombach to reach. After Krombach stole second, a passed ball allowed Thomas to cross home; Jordan Ingalls followed with a single to stake Youngstown State to a 4-2 advantage.

Green Bay would mount one last comeback, tying the game on Miranda Rienke’s double to right center, bringing Danielle Peerenboom and Paige Netwols home.

Youngstown State would capitalize on Green Bay’s third error of the game to plate the eventual game-winning run in the bottom half of the 3^rd. Kristen Philen would reach on an error, but was thrown out trying to score on Kayla Haslett’s double to the left center fence. However, Haslett took third on the throw home, and easily scored on Courtney Ewing’s single to center.

Haslett (8-7) would throw one more inning of scoreless work before handing the ball to Casey Crozier, who allowed just one runner across three innings to notch her third save of the year.

The Penguins added two insurance runs in the sixth, as Sarah Gabel’s single to left plated Caroline Krombach. Philen’s line drive to center allowed Jordan Ingalls to score the game’s final run.

Green Bay dented the scoreboard in the top of the second to post a brief 2-0 lead, as Shannon Butts and Alli Rivera led off the inning with singles before a wild pitch put both runners in scoring position. After a strikeout, Jessica Hrncar’s infield single drove in Butts. Ashleigh Racer beat out a potential double play ground ball to bring Rivera home before the Phoenix were undone by miscues over the next two innings.

(1) Valparaiso 3, (3) UIC 0
Alex Lagesse made three early runs stand up, tossing a two-hitter as No. 1 Valparaiso eliminated the defending League champion UIC, 3-0, on Thursday night at Valparaiso Softball Field.

The victory sends Valparaiso (38-17) into an elimination game with Youngstown State at 12 p.m. EST on Friday.

Lagesse (19-9) gave up just two hits on the night, striking out five, as she bounced back from a loss in the first game of the second session. The only two hits she allowed came in the second inning, but she worked out of the jam in what represented UIC’s (26-27) best scoring chance of the game.

Valparaiso drew first blood in its first at bat of the evening, as Sara Strickland walked to lead off the bottom half of the inning and moved to second base on Jessie Marinec’s single to center. A fielder’s choice eliminated Strickland, but Marinec would come around to score on Jordan Rutkowski’s single down the left-field line.

The Crusaders would add two more in the second, as Strickland and Angie Doerffler tallied back-to-back singles to bring Kelsey Phelan and Strickland across the plate.

From there, Lagesse cruised, with only a fielding error keeping her from setting down the game’s final 15 batters in a row.

Devin Miller (14-14) took the loss for the Flames.