St. Augustine's College Game 1 Box score
St. Augustine's College Game 2 Box score
York College Box score
Fayetteville State University Morning Game Box score
Fayetteville State University Afternoon Game Box score
Hood College Box score
Fayetteville, NC – Lightning Softball goes 4-2 in warmer temperatures to kick off the season.
The Lightning softball team headed to North Carolina for a weekend of play to start their 2009 season, with just five returners from last season.
In their first game against St. Augustine's College, sophomore Heather Draper was stellar on the mound for the Lightning. Draper recorded five strikeouts, and only surrendered two hits and one run, as the Lightning defeated St. Augustine's 9-1. Kim Narkiewicz, a junior, posted two doubles for the Lightning, while newcomers Lauren Witzke and Ashley Paige each added two hits and two runs for the Lightning. Cailin Cavanaugh also scored twice for the Lightning.
The second game of the double header found Sadie Jones, a freshman from Milford, Delaware, on the mound for the Lightning. The Lightning once again breezed through St. Augustine's with an 11-0 five inning win. Jones recorded five strikeouts in the shut out for her first collegiate game. Freshman Danielle Rice hit two home runs, including one on her first at-bat of the game, to lead the Lightning, and classmate Leah Bowman crossed the plate three times on just one hit.
The next day the Lightning would get a surprise with their scheduled two games turning into four, due to the incoming weather. In their first of the day, the Lightning found it hard to hit the York College pitcher and when they did, they were unable to score. The Lightning fell to York 5-0. Freshman Jordan Waterloo recorded six putouts for the Lightning, while Danielle Rice and Kim Narkiewicz recorded five and four putouts respectively.
Fayetteville State University would be their next two challenges. The Lightning continued their struggles with the bat in their first game, only coming up with three hits, as they fell 2-0. Lauren Witzke recorded seven putouts from behind the plate, while freshman Shannon O'Hara recorded five from first base.
A few hours later, the Lightning would have a shot to even the score with Fayetteville State. The Lightning found their bats early in the game, and took a 2-1 lead in the second inning, only to see Fayetteville regain the advantage (3-2) in the third. The Lightning tied the game up in the sixth with a home run by freshman Shannon Graves. In the seventh inning, with runners on first and second base, Danielle Rice converted a two-strike, two-out pitch to drive in Lauren Witzke for the winning run (4-3).
In the fourth and final game of the day, the Lightning took the early lead vs. Hood College, and cruised to a 3-1 win.
Heather Draper led the Lightning from the mound with a 3-1 weekend, while Sadie Jones went 1-1. Danielle Rice led the Lightning with 2 home runs and 6 RBI's, and 22 putouts. Freshman Jordan Waterloo also contributed 22 putouts, while classmate Shannon Graves led the team with a .455 batting average.
The Lightning will host East Stroudsburg University on Wednesday, March 11, 2009 at 2:30pm for the home opener.
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