Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Buffalo
Softball Captures Doubleheader Split Against Bulls
5/1/2010 6:28:41 PM | Softball
The Eagles split for the second day in a row, moving to 17-28 overall and 6-12 in MAC play
Box Scores - Game 1, Game 2
BUFFALO, NY (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University softball team recorded a doubleheader split for the second straight day by defeating the University at Buffalo, 13-5, in game one before dropping game two to the Bulls, 8-4, in a Mid-American Conference cross-divisional meeting at Nan Harvey Field Saturday, May 1.
With the split, the Eagles move to 17-28 overall, 6-12 in Mid-American Conference play, while the Bulls move to 18-31 (6-12 MAC).
Jenny Scherer went 5-for-8 on the day including 4-for-4 in game one with four RBI and three runs scored while adding her 12th home run of the season and 48th for her career. The senior led an EMU offensive attack that tallied 13 runs on 12 hits in game one and four runs on six hits in game two. Jessica Richards added a 4-for-8 effort with three runs scored while Lauren Delapaz went 2-for-4 with four runs batted in.
The Eagles set the tone right off the bat, with four runs on four hits in the first inning of game one. Freshman Nellie Coquillard added her sixth home run in the season, a two-run shot, in giving starting pitcher Jaclyn Caro (1-4) an early lead as she went on to capture her first win of the season.
After allowing a run to the Bulls in the bottom half of the first, Caro bounced back to toss three consecutive scoreless innings. Despite allowing four runs in the fifth inning, the Eagles still went on to run-rule Buffalo in five innings, 13-5.
What opened the flood gates was a six-run fourth inning in which sophomore Sarah Gerber contributed a two-run double along with a bases clearing three-run double by Delapaz. The junior took a three-game hitting streak into game two, homering twice while driving in six runs during that span.
In the fifth inning of game one, Scherer blasted her 12th long ball of the season to provide the final tally for the Eagles in a 13-5 win. Scherer has been on a tear lately, recording hits in 15-of-her-last-16 games including seven multi-hit games and home runs in three straight games prior to game two Saturday. Her average has gone up 49 points, from .270 at the beginning of the week to .319 at week's end.
In game two, the Eagles jumped out to another 4-0 advantage, recording single tallies in the second and third innings on a sacrifice fly by Delapaz and a run-scoring single by Gerber before adding two more in the fourth thanks to a pair of RBI singles by Jessica Patterson and Katy Blaharski.
Buffalo responded in a big way in its half of the fifth, scoring seven runs on eight hits, highlighted by a three-run home run to left-center by Jessica Griffin. Prior to the outburst, Eagle starter Jillian Williamson had been cruising right along, tossing four straight scoreless innings to begin the game. However, an unfortunate fifth inning forced EMU Interim Head Coach Eric Oakley to make a change by bringing in senior Michelle Hletko in relief.
Buffalo hurler Sharon Barr tossed four scoreless inning in relief to earn the win and move to 13-17 on the season. Meanwhile, Williamson falls to 4-5 with the loss.
The Eagles have four conference games remaining against Western Michigan and Northern Illinois, but will first travel across town to take on Washtenaw County foe and second-ranked nationally, Michigan, at Alumni Field on the campus of the University of Michigan this Wednesday, May 5, at 6 p.m.
