Wilmington, Del. - After seeing a 2-0 lead in game one slip in a 4-3 defeat, the Adelphi University softball team bounced back from three deficits in the game two to force extra innings, and eventually claimed a 6-5 win in 10 innings to earn a split in regional action against the Wilmington University Wildcats on Sunday afternoon.
Trailing 4-2 headed to the top of the seventh, after having battled back from early 1-0 and 2-1 deficits, Adelphi (6-11) got game-tying RBI singles from
Nicoletta Cuccio and
Nicole Camera to help send the game to extras, where the Panthers eventually prevailed in 10 despite seeing Wilmington tie the game in the bottom of the eighth after a
Lauren O'Neill RBI single gave them the lead.Â
Emily Turney's grounder was booted by the Wilmington shortstop, allowing Camera to score the go-ahead run, and though the sophomore didn't earn a second RBI for the game on the play, continued her strong week with a 4-for-8 day, including 3-for-5 in game two with a second-inning RBI.
O'Neill went 1-for-2 with two RBIs and a run scored in game two, while Camera and Martini combined to go 4-for-8 in game one and
Elisabeth Berard also collected two hits.
Game 1
A 2-0 lead for Adelphi quickly turned into a 4-2 deficit at the close of five innings, as the Wildcats put together a rally against
Jessica Vadala in relief of
Kristin Fealy.
Trailing 2-1 in the fifth inning, the Wildcats put up three runs to take a 4-2 lead as two triples in the span of three batters for Rosa'Lynn Burton and Mirabella Klebart put the home team in the lead. Another extra-base hit, this one a Makayla McCarthy double to the gap in right center, scored Klebart for the 4-2 advantage.
Wilmington starter Caitlyn Whiteside left a runner on in the sixth and ran into trouble in the seventh.
Krista King reached on a dropped throw at first base and a one-out single for Martini put runners at the corners. Camera drove in Adelphi's third run with a single to left, and
Christina Rizzi's sacrifice bunt put the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position. However, Whiteside won the battle, picking up a game-ending strikeout to end the game.
She worked around 10 Adelphi hits over seven innings, striking out two.Â
Game 2
O'Neill and Turney combined to tie the game twice in the early innings of the night cap, as the freshman's sacrifice fly in the top of the second and the sophomore's RBI single up the middle in the fourth brought Adelphi even at 1-1 and 2-2, respectively, after the Wildcats scratched out a pair of runs against
Ally Muller.
Burton came up big again for the hosts in the sixth, hitting a two-out single up the middle to score Jazmeen Llamas from second to reclaim the lead. Later, Lauren Lopez added an insurance run with another two-out single to right center, plating Alyssa Velasquez for the 4-2 lead.
However, for the second time in a week, Adelphi rallied in its last at bats, as O'Neill walked to lead off and came around on Cuccio's one-out single, and the junior later scored on Camera's two-out double to tie the game.
Nicole Mengel struck out a pair in the bottom of the seventh to send the game to the eighth, where Adelphi gained the lead for the first time.
Placed on second to begin the inning with the international tie breaker rule in effect in non-conference action,
Lauren Sandelier came around on O'Neill's RBI single, but her run was for naught as it was the home team's turn to tie the game again in the bottom of the eighth.Â
Burton and the Wildcats answered by beating out an infield single to shortstop, bringing in the tying run at 5-5. An error extended the inning and loaded the bases, but a ground ball to third base ended the chance of a walk-off. Mengel later worked out of trouble in the ninth, as the Wildcats again loaded the bases in the ninth inning with a sacrifice bunt and two intentional walks. Jordyn Virden chopped one to third and the Panthers made the play at the plate for the second out, before Alyssa Velasquez grounded out to short to end the threat and set up Adelphi's game-winning top of the 10th.
However, the freshman was not out of the woods, as she faced runners on second and third with no outs to begin the home 10th after Burton again doubled. After an intentional walk to load the bases, the Wildcats struck out and then grounded into a game-ending 5-3 double play.
The freshman from Litiz, Pa. scored her second win of the season behind five innings of work, five walks (three intentional) and four strikeouts.
About Adelphi Athletics
Adelphi University joined the Northeast-10 Conference in the fall of 2009, and in the past eight seasons, has collected 25 regular season conference titles, 26 tournament championships, 33 individual crowns and captured the Northeast-10 Presidents' Cup four times (2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017), while winning six NCAA Division II National Championships.
For the latest on Adelphi University Athletics, follow the Panthers at www.aupanthers.com or via social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Snapchat.
