Eastern Michigan Athletics
Sunday, February 22
Madeira Beach, Fla.
2 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
4-6
5
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4
Siena
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Siena College
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Eastern Michigan
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Photo by: Envision Sports Media/Kalli Chason
Rich's Shutout Pitching Lifts Eagles to Day Three Victories
2/22/2015 8:38:00 PM | Softball
The Eagles defeated UMASS-Lowell and Siena College on day three of EMU Madeira Beach Spring Invitational
MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University softball team swept the final day of the EMU Madeira Beach Spring Invitational, first shutting out UMASS-Lowell, 3-0, before going on to defeat Siena College, 5-4, on a walk-off homerun from Michelle Kriegshauser.
The Eagles (4-6) picked up their third-straight win of the season, marking the first time the Green and White has one three in-a-row since Apr. 26-27, 2013, when EMU swept Miami in a doubleheader before defeating Ball State.
Senior pitcher Lindsay Rich picked up both the wins in the circle for EMU, pitching a complete game against the River Hawks before coming on in relief in the victory against the Saints. The right-handed hurler has now pitched 16.2 consecutive shut out innings in the past three games for the Green and White, including two seven inning shut out victories.
At the plate, senior Jenn Lucas tallied three hits on the afternoon with two runs and one RBI, while Kriegshauser notched three hits and two RBI for the Green and White.
Game One: Eastern Michigan 3, UMASS-Lowell 0
After two and a half innings of scoreless ball, the Eagles broke open the scoreboard in the bottom half of the third inning when Aoife Duffy led off with a single to left field before pinch runner Elaine Whitbeck advanced to third on a UMASS-Lowell miscue. Whitbeck crossed the plate on a Haley Hostetler suicide squeeze to put EMU up 1-0 early in the contest.
Rich continued to look strong in the circle sitting down batters in order for the second-straight inning, while the Eagle offense continued to build to its tally. In the bottom of the fourth, Rich helped herself with a leadoff double to the right center fence, while a sacrifice bunt moved pinch runner Mady Hostetler to third base with Katy Wyman up to bat. Wyman stepped up and laced a single to left field; scoring Hostetler and extending the Eastern lead to 2-0 over the River Hawks.
The Eagles senior hurler retired UMASS-Lowell in order for two more innings before the Green and White tacked on one final security run in the bottom of the sixth inning. A one-out single from Abi Clark got the ball rolling for the Eagles before pinch runner Angel Schilke stole second and came around to score off of an Abby Davidson rope to left field, allowing Eastern Michigan to take a three-run lead into the final inning.
The River Hawks looked to get some offense going with a lead off single, but the Eagles recorded the next two outs with a runner on first. A second single of the inning put runners in scoring position before a slow grounder came back to Rich who easily made the throw to first to secure the EMU victory.
Game Two: Eastern Michigan 5, Siena 4
Siena got its bats going early, scoring two runs in the top of the first inning off of a single down the left field line and a sacrifice fly to right field to take the early lead over Eastern Michigan.
The Eagles lit up the scoreboard in the bottom of the third inning when Myranda Barnes led off the inning with a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Hostetler. A hard hit single from Lucas moved Barnes to third before a single up the middle from Kriegshauser brought her home to score.
The Saints struck again in the top of the fourth, notching two runs on three hits, including two-straight to lead off the inning, to extend their lead to 4-1. The Eagles came within two in the bottom of the fifth inning when Lucas dug in with bases loaded and a runner on third. The senior outfielder singled through the left side of the field as EMU trailed Siena 4-2.
The Green and White continued to battle back in the bottom of the sixth inning when Davidson drew a walk and made her way around the bases on an Duffy double in the right center gap, leaving the Eagles trailing by one with two outs in the sixth.
Trailing by one in the bottom of the seventh inning, Lucas knocked a single up the middle, bringing Kriegshauser to the plate. For the second time in the contest, the sophomore outfielder came through for the Green and White. The time Kriegshauser blasted a two-run homer over the right field fence to secure the walk off victory for EMU.
Eastern Michigan will be back in action Friday, Feb 27 when it heads to the USF Under Armour Tournament in Tampa, Fla. EMU will kick off the tournament with Villanova University. First pitch is slated for 4 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Rich, Lindsay (3-4)
L: ARMENTI, Erica (3-4)
Batting:
SH: COOPER, Vanessa 1
Base Running:
HBP: ZINKIEWICZ, Alyssa 1 ; JAMIESON, Abby 1
Batting:
2B: Rich, Lindsay 1
RBI: Hostetler, Haley 1 ; Davidson, Abby 1 ; Wyman, Katy 1
SH: Hostetler, Haley 1 ; Davidson, Abby 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Hostetler, Mady 1 ; Schilke, Angel 1 ; Whitbeck, Elaine 1
SB: Schilke, Angel 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
1
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball3B
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
SS/2B
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballP/1B
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball2B/1B
/ SoftballThank You, Team 38
Monday, May 07
Overcoming Adversity: A Lauren Holdsworth Feature
Saturday, February 24
Closing Out a Legacy: Michelle Kriegshauser
Thursday, May 18
EMU Softball Signs Alyssa Feiler
Saturday, March 25