Gonzalez Hits Walk-Off In Bottom Of The 13th To Lift Softball To First Of Two Wins Over Mercy, 5-4 And 8-0
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BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (April 12, 2012) – Sophomore third baseman
Alexis Gonzalez (Hauppauge, N.Y.) used a walk-off home run in the 13th inning of game one to help produce a doubleheader sweep for C.W. Post softball against Mercy College, 5-4 and 8-0, this afternoon at the Softball Complex.
C.W. Post improves to 30-14 on the 2012 season and pushes its conference record in the ECC to 18-2. Mercy slips to 6-14 in conference play and 18-20 overall. The first game's 13 inning, 3-hour duration is the longest game on record for the Pioneer program.
Mercy took an early lead in the second inning of the first game as Chloe Solomn drove in Jacquelyn Couillard with an RBI single. The Mavericks' lead did not last long as the Pioneers fought back during the bottom of the third.
With two runners on, sophomore shortstop
Nicole Hagenah (Commack, N.Y.) doubled to right center that plated one of those runners, senior right fielder
Krysta Palazzo (Sea Cliff, N.Y.), and pushed Gonzalez to third base. Two batters later, sophomore designated player
Liz Weber (Brightwaters, N.Y.) singled and then advanced to second on an error by the shortstop, which also allowed two runners to score and helped give the Pioneers a 3-1 lead after three innings.
The Pioneers tacked on another run during the bottom half of the fourth and were led off by long double to right field by senior left fielder
Kerry Fisher (Barto, Pa.). Fisher later scored on a Gonzalez sacrifice fly to make C.W. Post's lead 4-1.
An error in the sixth inning allowed Jenna Ausiello to score from third and helped the Mavericks chip into the Pioneer lead. During the seventh, Mercy came all the way the back to tie the game at four runs apiece. Jessica Doria singled in the first run of the seventh and later scored the tying run on Ausiello's single, forcing a tie that led to extra innings.
Both teams created chances over the extra innings of play, however, neither could find a way to manufacture the winning run until Gonzalez came to the plate in the 13th inning. On a one ball, one strike count, Gonzalez drove the next pitch over the fence in left field and gave the Pioneers the victory.
Senior
Hayley Bettles (Surrey, British Columbia) pitched the final seven innings of the game to earn the victory and improve to 4-4 as the senior scattered five hits and struck out four. Freshman
Megan Salcido (Brawley, Calif.) started for the Pioneers and pitched the first six innings, allowing six hits and two earned runs while striking out two.
Gonzalez finished the first game going 3-for-6 and knocked in two runs. Weber was credited with one RBI as she also went 3-for-6 from the plate.
For Mercy, Ausiello drew four walks while going 1-for-3, driving in a run and also scoring one. On the mound, Alexandra Puglisi took the loss despite going the final eight innings and only allowing one run on six hits.
C.W. Post began the second game strong, scoring the first two runs of the game in the bottom of the first. After a 1-2-3 top of the first by Weber, the starting pitcher for the second game, also showed up at the plate to give herself a 2-0 lead with a single to short that scored both Hagenah and Gonzalez.
With a 2-0 lead after two innings, the Pioneers did the rest of game's scoring during the bottom half of the fourth that saw a total of six runs cross the plate. Fisher earned the first RBI of the inning on a single that brought home junior first baseman
Kaci Hopkins (New Egypt, N.J.) from third. Palazzo also hit a RBI single a few batters later, followed two batters later by a Hagenah double that scored two runs and also during the play had Gonzalez score on an error. Hagenah came around on a single from freshman catcher
Alyson Dzierzynski (Deer Park, N.Y.) to conclude the scoring in the sixth that saw six runs scored on six hits.
Weber closed the afternoon out with another 1-2-3 top of the fifth that included a ground out, strike out, and pop out.
The sophomore earned her 14th victory of the season on the effort, going to 14-4 with four strikeouts and three hits allowed in five innings of work. She also tied for the team lead with two runs driven in. Hagenah matched the RBI total as she went perfect from the plate with a 3-for-3 performance. Fisher also went perfect with her at-bats, going 2-for-2 in the second game.
Next on the schedule will be a doubleheader at Dowling this Saturday. The Pioneers are set for a 12 p.m. first pitch at the conference rival's home field.