The St. Louis University softball team won two of three road games against the Charlotte 49ers this past weekend.
The Billikens opened the series by splitting a double-header and winning the first game 2-0 before falling 5-2 in the second game.
The first game was a pitchers' duel between SLU's freshman hurler Lorena Floccari and Charlotte's Kristen Bowen.
After five scoreless innings, the Billiken bats finally came alive.
Senior center fielder Adrienne May singled, setting the stage for Kara Sell. The freshman left fielder blasted a pitch from Bowen over the wall, giving the Billikens all of the runs they would need.
"Adrienne May got on and I got a hold of a pitch, hit a homerun, and we were up 2-0, which was the final score," Sell said. "We had great defense throughout the whole game. We had a few scoring opportunities, but couldn't clutch up and get a hit with runners on base. Floccari pitched a complete game shutout, allowing just four hits while striking out seven.
"Lorena pitched a great game," Sell said.
The second game progressed much like the first; no team had scored after four innings of play. Charlotte, however, exploded in the fifth, scoring five runs. The Billikens plated two runs in the seventh inning, but would go on to lose 5-2.
The game was going very well defensively for us until the fifth inning," Sell said. "They got on base on some blooper hits that kept falling in the gaps. Once runners started getting on base, I think the team began to lose focus."
Yet, the Billikens would redeem themselves by winning the series finale, 4-1. The Billikens prevailed as a result of strong pitching and timely hitting. Floccari pitched her second complete game of the series, allowing just one run on six hits while striking out three.
May had three hits and an RBI to lead the Billikens' scoring attack. Sell gave the Billikens a 1-0 lead in the first inning after scoring on a hit by junior right fielder Logan Justice.
The Billikens struck again in the fourth. Freshman second-baseman Katie Hoffarth singled to lead off the inning.
A hit by May and a Charlotte error put runners on second and third for Ashley Heady. The junior shortstop singled to left field to put the Billikens up 2-0.
The Billikens scored two more runs in the fifth inning to put the game away.
Doubles by Hoffarth and Justice, followed by May's RBI single, gave the Billikens a 4-0 lead.
"Lorena pitched a great game again," Sell said. "Everyone throughout the whole line-up was hitting the ball, and Charlotte's pitching got frustrated."
A solo homerun in the bottom half of the fifth inning was all the offense the 49ers could muster, as the Billikens prevailed 4-1.
The Billikens (10-13, 2-6 C-USA) will look to build on their success against Charlotte when they play five home games this week, a double-header against Southern Illinois on Wednesday and a three-game set against UAB this weekend, including a double-header on Friday.
Sell is confident that the team can bounce back from what has thus far been an up-and-down season.
"Lorena is at the top of her game now, and Adrienne May is batting almost .500, which is one of the highest averages in the conference. Our defense is getting a lot better. We just need to work on producing hits throughout the whole line-up like we did in the last game against Charlotte. With solid defense and hitting, we still should be a tough team to beat."
