Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
Yale
Softball Splits Twinbill at Rider
March 27, 2011 | Softball
Box Score (Game 1)
Box Score (Game 2)
LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. - Freshman Marina Northup and junior Shawna Bleyl combined on a five-hit shutout, and Army scored single runs in the first and sixth innings in a 2-0 defeat of host Rider in the first game of a softball doubleheader at Herb and Joan Young Field Sunday afternoon. The Broncs snapped a 1-1 tie with three runs in the bottom of the third inning in halting the Black Knights' five-game win streak with a 4-1 nightcap decision to gain a split.
In Army's opening-game win, freshman Amanda Nguyen scored the first run of the game in the top of the first inning when she crossed on a passed ball. The left fielder beat out a bunt to lead off that frame, stole second base and moved to third on a wild pitch, then crossed the plate on the passed ball with two outs.
Army (13-9) added an insurance run in the sixth inning on Rachael Duval's sacrifice fly to right field delivering Reanna Johnson, who doubled and moved to third on Meghan McGowan's groundout, for a 2-0 lead.
The Black Knights turned away Rider's most serious threats in the fourth and sixth inning, leaving a pair of runners in scoring position in both frames.
Bleyl, taking over from Northup with runners at first and second with two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning, moved the runners up a base with a wild pitch before nipping the Broncs' rally on a grounder to first baseman Alexis AuBuchon,
After yielding both of her hits to the first two batters she faced in the sixth inning, followed by a hit batsman to load the bases, the junior right-hander got out unscathed on a pair of force plays at home plate, with the second one part of a double play tandem. After issuing her lone walk with one out in the top of the seventh in pitching 3.2 innings in relief to record the win, Bleyl (6-4) preserved the shutout on a groundout and strikeout.
Northup was touched for three hits along with a walk over 3.2 innings in her second start of the season. The shutout is Army's sixth of the season and second in 24 hours following a 12-0 five-inning blanking of Yale Saturday afternoon in the Black Knighs' home debut.
The Black Knights were held to four hits by Rachael Matreale, who got out of jams with runners at third base in the second and third innings in holding Army to a single run early in the game. The Black Knights had seven runners stranded and the Broncs left five runners on base.
In the second game against Rider, both teams scored a run in the first inning. Angela Deger's RBI fielder's choice scored Nguyen, who singled and moved around on back-to-back walks, to put Army up 1-0 in the top of the first inning. Rider hurler Krysti Maronski, who went the distance on a four-hitter, struck out seven and walked five of the 30 batters she faced, retired the side on a groundout and strikeout in stranding the two runners she walked.
After Rider scored the equalizer in the bottom of the first inning on Brittany Eckett's two-out double, Maronski only once allowed Army into scoring position over the next six innings when she yielded her last hit of the game in the top of the third inning to Alex Reynolds followed by a walk to AuBuchon with one out. Maronski went on to retire the next nine batters and 12 of the final 14 she faced.
Rider snapped a 1-t tie with three runs capitalizing on three hits and an error in the bottom of the third inning to pull ahead 4-1. Ecket's second RBI of the game delivered the go-ahead run with her sacrifice fly to right field with the second run in that inning scoring off the catcher's overthrow to second base. With two outs, pinch hitter Ally Coryell singled home the third run off starter Haley Pypes (6-3).
After being touched for a leadoff double in the fourth inning, Pypes turned the circle over to Bleyl who threw three innings of shutout ball. Bleyl stranded that runner at third base, then worked her way out of another jam in the fourth on a strikeout and groundout after being touched for her lone hit, a one-out triple. Bleyl then retired the side in the sixth inning en route to throwing 6.2 innings of shutout relief ball yielding three hits in the two games.
The Black Knights return home to open a six-game home slate starting with a midweek doubleheader Wednesday afternoon against Fairleigh Dickinson. Defending Patriot League champion Army hosts Colgate in the conference debut for both in a four-game series April 2-3.
NOTES: Army is 2-1 against Rider this season having defeated the Broncs 10-3 during competition at the Rebel Spring Games on March 14 to pull ahead 11-9 in a series that began in 1979 ... Army stretched its win streak to five straight following the first game win over Rider for its longest of the season.
