Drexel University Athletics
Drexel University
UMBC
Dragons Hold Off Host UMBC For 7-6 Win at Dawn Pound Tournament
3/8/2009 6:38:07 PM | Softball
Baltimore, Md. - A three-run home run by Ashley Botelho in the sixth inning brought Drexel from behind in a thrilling 7-6 victory over UMBC at the Dawn Pound Tournament. The Dragons squandered an early lead but fought back to defeat the host in a thrilling victory that improved Drexel's record to 4-5 on the season. Lisa Williams scored twice, drove in two runs and stole a pair of bases and Sandi Wambold popped her fourth homer of the season to lift their team to victory.
Ellen Boundy picked up her first victory of the season after coming on in the fourth inning in relief of starter Katrina Gaudier. She got out of the inning unscathed, allowing one hit and striking out one. Hillary Allen pitched the last three innings to pin down the win for Drexel. She let up one run on two hits and struck out one en route to her first career save.
Drexel built and early one-run lead courtesy of Williams' aggressive base running and a pair of Retrievers errors. Williams helped the Dragons hang two more on the board in the second inning when she belted a bases-clearing double that plated Kristen Beaver and Devon Metcalf, putting Drexel up 3-0.
A pair of RBI-singles plated runs in the second inning before Gaudier was able to escape with her team clinging to a slim 3-2 lead. The Dragons got one run back in the third inning on a solo shot by Wambold, her fourth of the season and second on the weekend, to make it a 4-2 Drexel lead.
UMBC tied the game with a two-run homer in the bottom of the third inning by Julia Culotta, the Retrievers' number four hitter.
The top of the Retrievers' lineup got to Gaudier again in the fourth inning, loading the bases on two singles and an error. Boundy relieved Gaudier with one out and the bases loaded. She yeilded an RBI single before striking out the clean-up hitter Culotta and inducing a fly ball to get out of the inning with UMBC on top 5-4.
Botelho delivered the game-changing blow in the fifth inning to bring her team from behind. Williams drew a lead-off walk and promptly stole second. After Katy Harrington struckout and Paige Collings flew out, the Retrievers intentionally walked Wambold to get to Botelho. The junior made the Retrievers pay for their decision by blasting a three-run shot to left field to put Drexel back on top 7-5.
Hillary Allen relieved Boundy in the fifth inning and sat down the bottom of the UMBC lineup in order. In the sixth inning, however, the top of the Retrievers order came through once again. Lead-off hitter Lauren Brummell singled for her third hit of the game and advanced to third on a throwing error by Metcalf at third base on a grounder by Lauren O'Malley. She came in to score on a groundout, cutting Drexel's lead to 7-6. But Allen would get Culotta to ground out for the final out of the inning.
Allen shut down the UMBC bats again in the seventh inning. She struck out the dangerous Krista Kearns and induced a pair of ground balls to close out the Drexel victory and earn her first career save.
The Dragons earned a spot in the consolation game of the tournament by virtue of a run differential tie-breaker. They will face Fairleigh Dickson, a team they beat 2-0 on Saturday.
