Softball Turns it On

The Friars continued their push for a Big East tournament berth this week posting a 5-1 record, and bringing them to 23-19-2 overall and 7-7 in the Big East.

"We are in a really good position right now to make the tournament and we just need to play hard the next couple of weeks," said junior Mary Rose Sheehy. "We're really confident we are going to get some wins out of it and hopefully the cards fall in our favor and we will make the tournament."

The Friars ended the week with in-state and non-league rival, the University of Rhode Island Rams. In the first game of the day, the Friar bats were absolutely on fire. This season, PC has been plagued with poor hitting, especially with runners on base, but in this contest the Friars left nobody on the basepaths.

With the score tied at one apiece after the first inning of play, the Friar bats packed a serious punch in the second. After a number of two-out hits, sophomore Christy Becker blasted a three-run homer to give PC a 7-1 advantage. The homerun was Becker's team leading seventh of the season.

After adding another run in the fourth, the Friars opened the flood gates in the fifth with another six-run rally. At the forefront of the rally was Sheehy, Providence's most productive and consistent hitter. With the bases loaded, Sheehy drilled a liner deep into the outfield that allowed all three Friar runners to cross home plate. Keeping the momentum rolling, junior Gina Rossi hit a towering two-run homer, giving the Friars a 14-1 advantage, that would stick as the game's final score after the fifth inning mercy rule.

The 14 run attack saw PC bang out 14 hits to go along with four walks. Offensive standouts in the game included sophomores Katelyn Revens (3-4), Jenna Garcia (2-4) Christy Becker (2-4, five RBI's) and Gina Rossi (2-4, two RBI's).

Not to be lost in the offensive outburst was the work of sophomore pitcher Danielle Bertolette who gave up just one run over four innings of work to earn her 12th win of the season.

The second game of the day didn't prove to be a walk in the park for the Friars. Despite being embarrased on their home field in game one, the Rhody Rams were resilient and played inspiring ball in the night cap of the doubleheader.

With junior Jennifer Maccio on the hill, the Friars and the Rams threw donuts up on the scoreboard for the first two innings of play. In the bottom of the third, the Rhody bats finally came alive. Sophomore Leah DiBussulo hammered a two-run triple, high off of the centerfield wall and was later singled home by fellow sophomore Melissa Wilson to give Rhody a 3-0 advantage. The three run outburst gave Maccio an early exit from the game. Friar fans have grown accustomed to seeing both Maccio and Bertolette work late into games, but in this contest, Maccio got the hook after just two and two-thirds innings.

With the way that Providence has struggled at the plate this season, facing a 3-0 deficit on the road seemed nearly impossible to overcome. With a renewed sense of energy and determination, however, the Friars refused to give in to their in-state rivals.

The PC bats didn't give Rhody any time to enjoy their lead. In the top of the fourth inning, sophomore Teresa Bertels got the Friars in the scoring column with an RBI double. The run narrowed the Ram's lead to 3-1, but the Friar lineup was not finished. In the sixth inning, senior Samantha Pittman inched the Friars even closer when she lined an RBI single to bring the Friars within one run at 3-2.

In the Friars' final at-bat, there was plenty of work to be done and on this day, PC certainly came up in the clutch. With two outs and no one on base, Becker and Rossi each notched singles. Needing just a single run to extend the game, freshman Justine Stratton crushed a double that brought home both Becker and Rossi, giving PC a 4-3 advantage.

Getting the last three outs of a softball game is no easy task, but the Friars were in very good hands with freshman Kathryn Sullivan on the mound. Sullivan relieved Maccio in the third inning and seemed more like a seasoned veteran than a young and inexperienced freshman. Over her four and one-third innings of work, Sullivan allowed just four hits while striking out three. Most importantly, she kept the Rams off the scoreboard. When the final out was secured, the Friars found themselves with their fifth win in the last six games.

Over the weekend, the squad headed to Villanova, Penn., on Sunday, April 20, to take on the Villanova Wildcats (16-23-1, 5-10). The Friars split the afternoon doubleheader winning the first game and dropping the second.

In the first game of the day sophomore Danielle Bertolette pitched her seventh shutout of the season en route to a 2-0 victory. She allowed five hits and struck out five, improving to 12-8 on the season. The first run for the Friars came in the top of the fourth when Sheehy hit an RBI double which drove in sophomore Jenna Garcia. The Friars added an insurance run an inning later when sophomore Katelyn Revens hit a single to drive in classmate Theresa Bertels.

In the second game of the day the Friars did not fair so well. Villanova's Nicci Ward dumbfounded the Friars' lineup, tossing a complete game no-hitter. She struck out seven and walked only three, leading the Wildcats to a 1-0 victory. Maccio pitched a gem of her own for the Friars, allowing only one run and five hits in six and two-thirds innings.

"We ran into a small roadblock down at Villanova, but we really got the bats going at Rutgers and we can carry that over to the next couple weeks," said Assistant Coach Erica Morgenstein.

The Friars did indeed get the bats going on Saturday, April 19, when they traveled to Piscataway, N.J. for a doubleheader against the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers University (18-26, 3-11). The entire team was swinging the bat well as the Friars rolled to wins in both games.

In the first game the Friars slammed the Knights for 15 hits; Jenna Garcia and freshman Justine Stratton had three each. Providence took a 2-0 lead in the first and never looked back. Garcia scored on a past ball and Stratton singled in the second run of the inning. Over the next six innings senior Samantha Pittman, junior Gina Rossi, and sophomore Christy Becker each racked up two hits apiece to help the Friars to a 7-1 win. Bertolette pitched all seven innings, allowing just one run on seven hits.

In the second game the Friars continued their penchant for drama, rallying from a 3-2 deficit in the seventh for a 6-3 victory. The Friars started the scoring in the first inning with a solo shot off the bat of Garcia, her fourth of the season. In the bottom half of the inning the Knights responded with their only runs of the game, giving them the lead 3-1. The Friars narrowed the lead to 3-2 in the fourth when Stratton hit a sac-fly to score Sheehy. The Friars tied in the game in the seventh when sophomore Julie Fowler hit an RBI single which brought Pittman in from second base. Fowler then came around to score on a sac-fly from Garcia, which was quickly followed by a two-run blast off the bat of Sheehy, her fourth of the season, sealing the victory for the Friars. Maccio earned the win pitching all seven innings and allowing only two earned runs.

The Friars will close out their season with a stretch of 10 games in eight days. But don't look for fatigue to be a factor, says senior leader Samantha Pittman, "The way Coach plans the practices, making everything light, makes sure that everyone is ready to go on game days."

Over the next two weeks the Friars will be able to prove whether they are up to the challenge of the Big East Tournament. "We have a lot on our plate; we are focusing really specifically on what we have to do though," said Coach Morgenstein. "Our pitchers have been doing a great job shutting teams down, the key to our success is to keep that going and get the bats going as well. We think we can beat some of the top teams in the country basically, and we hope to prove it in the Big East Tournament."

The Friars continue the quest for the Big East Tournament at 12:00 p.m. Saturday, April 26, when they travel to South Bend, Ind., to take on Big East rival Notre Dame.