Black Knights Fall in Pair of Extra-Inning Affairs

Friday, March 9

Tampa, FL

11:30 AM

Army West Point

2-9

Villanova

5-7

Villanova

Army

Black Knights Fall in Pair of Extra-Inning Affairs

March 09, 2018 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

TAMPA, Fla. – The Army West Point softball team dropped a pair of extra-inning games to Villanova and South Florida on the opening day of the USF Under Armour Showcase at the USF Softball Field.

Courtney Springman was brilliant on the day, starting inside the circle for the Black Knights in both contests. In 13.1 innings of work, she only allowed two earned runs and two walks, while tallying 11 strikeouts.

At the plate, Emily Ballesteros recorded four hits in eight at-bats in the two games combined. Ally Snelling also picked up a hit in each of the outings.

GAME 1: VILLANOVA 4, ARMY 2 (9 INNINGS)

Army fell to 2-9 on the season with the loss, while Villanova improved to 5-7.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

It was the most innings played in a single game by Army since April 10, 2016 against Bucknell. That game ended 1-0 in favor of the Bison in nine.
Springman tossed six innings of one-run ball, fanning seven batters and not issuing a walk.
Madison Cole notched her team-best fourth double of the season.
Ballesteros picked up her third multi-hit game of the season after tallying three base knocks against the Wildcats.
Carrie Reilly also had a multi-hit outing, her second of the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

It was a scoreless contest heading into the fourth when the Wildcats were due up to hit. After the first two batters of the inning were quickly retired, Angela Giampolo doubled. She came in to score the first run of the afternoon on the ensuing at-bat when Caroline Jones shot an RBI single to center.
Army answered right back in the bottom half of the frame. Reilly and Cole picked up back-to-back hits and the Black Knights had runners on second and third, setting up Ballesteros for an RBI single to left. The Cadets tried to push another run across on the play, but Cole was thrown out at the plate attempting to score.
The two sides mustered a hit apiece in each of the following three innings, but could not manufacture any runs. It was the ninth inning when the Wildcats finally broke through. The Wildcats' runner started the inning on second due to the tiebreaker rule and stole third.
After the first out was recorded, the following Villanova hitter was struck by a pitch and a two-RBI double put the Wildcats ahead 4-1 before the inning came to a close.
Army had one final chance to either tie or take the lead. Sam Hartman began the frame on second and Ballesteros drove her in on a one-out RBI single to left to trim the deficit to two, 4-2. However, the final two outs of the inning were recorded and Villanova grabbed the win.

GAME 2: USF 3, ARMY 2 (8 INNINGS)

Army dropped to 2-10 after falling to the Bulls, while USF moved to 13-13.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

Springman turned in another impressive, going seven strong innings while only allowing two runs on three hits.
Taylor Drayton homered for the first time in her collegiate career. The homer was also her first career hit for Army.
Four different Cadets tallied a hit in the game.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Bulls jumped on the board first after plating a pair of runs in the bottom of the opening frame. The two-run advantage did not hold for long as Army put runners on the corners in the top of the second. Nena Riccoboni put the ball in play and with Snelling charging to the plate, South Florida committed an error allowing the run to score.
Springman settled in and pitched four straight innings without allowing a hit to keep her team in the game. Despite the freshman shutting down the South Florida bats, Army too struggled offensively and could not generate many scoring chances. It came down to the seventh inning and with two outs, Taylor Drayton dug into the batter's box to pinch hit for Julia Wyatt. On the very first pitch that she saw, she blasted it over the fence for a game-tying home run.
With the game headed to extra innings, each team started with a runner on second. Army managed to get its baserunner over to third, but could not bring her home. South Florida did not fare the same though and plated the game-tying run in the eighth to capture the win.

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