Drexel University Athletics
Drexel University
UNC Wilmington
Gaudier, Gomez Pitch Dragons To Doubleheader Sweep of UNCW
3/22/2008 1:05:46 PM | Softball
Philadelphia – Drexel's pitching came up big in its conference-opening series against UNC Wilmington. Katrina Gaudier earned a complete-game victory in the Dragons' 9-4 game one win and she supported her cause with two home runs. In game two Breanna Gomez pitched her first career no-hitter as the Dragons (12-7, 2-0) went on for a 2-0 victory and a sweep of play on day one of the team's three-game set with the Seahawks (9-13-1, 0-2). The wins extend the team's winning streak to eight straight games, matching Drexel's longest string of victories since the 2001 season.
Game One
Drexel's bats came alive in a seven-run fifth inning to bring the Dragons back from a 4-1 deficit for a 9-4 UNC Wilmington victory in their first CAA game of the season. Katrina Gaudier hit two homeruns and pitched a complete game to pick up her sixth win of the season. Ashley Botelho and Lisa Williams also hit round-trippers for the Dragons.
Gaudier pitched her way into and out of three major jams through the first five innings to keep the Dragons in the game. With the team trailing 4-1 in the fifth, Drexel used a pair of two run homers and a two-run error by the Seahawks' shortstop to pull ahead. Gaudier made the lead standup to improve to 6-3 on the season and 3-0 in her last three outings.
Gaudier loaded the bases on the second inning with no outs. She induced a weak grounder to second base which Carla Waldron used to cut down one runner at home. Ashley Hill fought off a 0-2 pitch for a bloop single between short and second base to bring home the first run. She settled down to strike out Logan Shapiro looking for the second out. She induced a short pop to second base that caught Waldron in between a dive and a short-hop scoop. She smothered the ball but could not make the throw in time as another run scored. Gaudier ended the inning with a come-back ground ball to get out of the jam trailing 2-0.
The sophomore hurler pitched averted disaster again in the second when she struck out two batters with two runners on base to keep the Seahawks off the scoreboard. In the bottom of the inning she put the Dragons' first run on the board with her third home run of the year, a blast to left field, making it a 2-1 game.
Gaudier found herself in a bases loaded, no out situation again in the top of the fifth. After walking in a run she got two grounders to third base which Kelly Downes scooped and fired to home to cut down two runners. She got Meghan Murray to ground back to her for the last out to get out of the inning with UNC Wilmington on top 4-1.
The Dragons surged into the lead with seven runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Rodriguez got things started with a single and Ashley Botelho belted Brittany Lehrschall's first offering over the left field fence for her team-leading fourth homer of the season, making it a 4-3 game. With two outs and two on the Seahawks' shortstop came up short on her throw to first on what would have been an inning-ending ground out by Kristen Beaver. Two runs score as the ball bounced past first baseman Lindsay Styons, giving the Dragons their first lead of the game. A bloop double by Carla Waldron plated Beaver, making it a 6-4 Drexel game. Lisa Williams followed with her first home run of the season, a two-run shot to left field that put Drexel up 8-4.
Gaudier added one more run to her cause with a solo shot to straight-away centerfield in the sixth inning, setting up a 9-4 lead going into the ninth. She shut down the Seahawks in order in the seventh inning to earn her sixth victory of the season.
Game Two
Breanna Gomez threw a complete-game no-hit victory in game two. The Dragons' runs were supplied courtesy of a two-run blast by Christina Rodriguez, her 99th career hit, in the third inning. Gomez walked three and struckout two batters while pitching Drexel's first no-hitter since April 20, 2006 when Amanda Heyser blanked Maryland Eastern Shore.
Gomez pitched out of a bases-loaded one-out jam in the first inning, striking out Lindsay Styons to end the threat. After laboring through the first two innings, Gomez retired the Seahawks in order for the final five innings. Senior Amanda Hastings made a diving catch on a full sprint in right field for the final out of the contest, to preserve the hitless pitching performance.
Drexel took a led in the bottom of the third frame on a home run by Rodriguez lined over the centerfield fence. The blast with one aboard put Drexel on top 2-0. The two-run shot was the junior's first of the season and the fifth of her career.
Gomez's pitching gem was the team's first conference shutout since 2006 and the Dragons' first no-hitter in CAA play since April 1, 2006 when Ashlee Vielleux shut down George Mason.
The Dragons are back in action for the third and final game of their three-game set with UNC Wilmington on Drexel Field at 11:00 a.m.
