Drexel University Athletics
Drexel University
UNC Wilmington
Softball Splits Saturday Doubleheader at UNC Wilmington
3/28/2009 5:17:27 PM | Softball
Wilmington, N.C. - Drexel (13-11, 2-3) split a pair of CAA games at UNC Wilmington (4-19, 2-3) on the opening day of the Dragons' weekend series agaisnt the Seahawks. Rookie Hillary Allen pitched a complete-game shutout in Drexel's 3-0 victory in game one. In the nightcap the Seahawks bounced back with vigor to win 9-2. Ashley Botelho hit her team-leading fifth homer of the season in game two, which also matched Sandi Wambold's career record of 16 round-trippers.
Hillary Allen held the Seahawks to four hits over seven innings to earn the second complete-game shutout of her young Drexel career. She walked four and struckout four in the winning effort which improved her record to 4-5 on the season. Fellow freshman Devon Metcalf went 3-for-4 batting from the lead-off spot in the lineup for the first time this season.
Ashley Botelho gave Drexel a 2-0 lead in the third inning when she followed a Paige Collings double with an RBI single to drive home Lisa Williams. Collings followed her in after a throwing error by the Seahawks' second baseman.
Botelho also plated the Dragons' insurance run in the fifth inning. Lisa Williams led off with a single and came in to score when Botelho hit into a double play with Collings on first base to make it a 3-0 Drexel game.
Allen worked a perfect sixth inning to make the lead hold up. The Seahawks threatened a comeback in the bottom of the seventh. Slugger Carley Hughes came to the plate as the tying run with two outs in the inning. But Allen induced the All-CAA clean-up hitter to ground out for to end the contest.
Amanda Aditays incurred the loss for UNC Wilmington, dropping to 1-8 on the season. She gave up three runs on seven hits and three walks and struckout one Dragon in the losing effort.
The Seahawks came back with a vengence in the nightcap to win 9-2 over the Dragons. Starter Katrina Gaudier cruised through the first four innings and Drexel gave her two runs to work with on offense as the Dragons seemed to be in line to complete a doubleheader sweep. But the Seahawks scored three runs in the fifth inning to take a 3-2 lead and then lit up Drexel's relief pitching for six more in the sixth inning.
Botelho gave Drexel a 1-0 lead in the second inning with a solo shot, her fifth of the season and career-record-tying 16th as a Dragon. Collings drove in her team's second run with the third of three straight singles for the Dragons in the third inning. The hit brough home Christina Rodriguez to score her 101st career run at Drexel. Rodriguez is now just two runs short of the program's career record for runs scored.
Drexel lost its handle on the game in the fifth inning after a pair of errors helped the Seahawks load the bases against Gaudier. The senior walked home the first of three runs scored that inning before being relieved by Amanda Shattuck with the bases loaded and one out. A pair of wild pitches and a throwing error by Botelho later, UNC Wilmington took a 3-2 lead before Shattuck registered a strikeout to stop the bleeding.
Much to the Dragons' chagrin, it was more of the same in the sixth inning. UNC Wilmington used seven hits and a throwing error to push six runs across the plate capped by a three-run shot off the bat of Carley Hughes. to make it a 9-2 UNCW lead.
Gaudier took the loss, dropping her record to 6-4 on the season. She was responsible for three runs, none of them earned, in four and one-third innings of work. Amanda Davenport got the complete-game victory after letting up two earned runs on eight hits in a walk.
The teams complete the series tomorrow with a single game at noon.
