Rosemont, Ill. – The Roosevelt softball team came up on the short end of a pitcher's duel and a slugfest on Saturday afternoon as St. Francis (Ill.) took both games of a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader from the Lakers at the Ballpark at Rosemont. The Fighting Saints edged Roosevelt in extra innings, 2-0, in the opener and then used an 11-run fourth inning to outlast the Lakers, 14-9, in the finale of the twin-bill.
Roosevelt's record slipped to 9-26 on the year and 5-10 in CCAC contests after the two losses. St. Francis (Ill.) improved to 22-12 and 11-3 in league play.
In game one of the doubleheader, senior Sara Braden's two-out, two-run single in the top of the eighth inning proved to be the game-winner in the Fighting Saints' 2-0 victory over the Lakers.
The contest was a showdown between pitchers Morghan Dieringer of St. Francis (Ill.) and Roosevelt's Morgan Vogt as the duo traded goose eggs through the first seven innings.
In the first extra frame a hit batter to lead off the inning and a one-out hit by Brooke Karraker put two runners in scoring position for the Fighting Saints. After Vogt retired Ally Balandis for the second out, Braden delivered the decisive hit with a line drive through the middle of the infield.
Dieringer retired the Lakers in order in the bottom of the eighth to secure her 10th win and third shutout of the season. Dieringer struck out nine in the contest and stranded 10 runners on base, including the bases loaded in the fifth inning.
Vogt slipped to 4-11 in the circle this year with the loss. The senior scattered six hits and fanned five Fighting Saints batters. Vogt led Roosevelt offensively with three hits in four plate appearances.
Game two appeared to be following a similar path with Vogt returning to the circle for Roosevelt and shutting down the Fighting Saints through the opening three innings. A lone unearned tally by the Lakers in the bottom of the first was the only scratch on the scoreboard for the home side off starting pitcher Taylor Barsz.
The narrative of the contest turned in the fourth, though, as the two teams combined for a memorable offensive inning with 19 total runs crossing the plate. St. Francis (Ill.) started the scoreboard spinning with an 11-run outburst, capitalizing on four Roosevelt errors and rapping out nine hits, the final six of which came with two outs. The Lakers did not back down as they answered back with eight runs of their own in the bottom of the inning.
Senior Jessica Taylor highlighted Roosevelt's rally with a pinch-hit, two-run triple into the right field corner. Fellow senior Kristy Santora had two hits and two RBI in the inning, while senior Amanda Ferguson, freshman Katrina Yager, freshman Lauryn Lewis and senior Kelly Crowley all drove in runs as the Lakers cut their deficit to 11-9 by innings end.
The Fighting Saints would add to their lead with two runs in the fifth and a single tally in the seventh. They protected their advantage with strong relief pitching from game one starter Dieringer. The sophomore entered with two outs in the bottom fourth and stymied the Roosevelt offense. She allowed just one hit, while striking out six, in 3.1 innings of work as St. Francis (Ill.) held on for the 14-9 victory.
Dieringer picked up her second win of the day to move to 11-7 this season. In total between the two contests she tossed 11.1 scoreless innings with 15 strikeouts. Vogt was the losing pitcher of record in game two after allowing six runs, just three earned, in 3.2 innings. She fell to 4-12 in the circle with the loss.
The Lakers will be back in action at the Ballpark at Rosemont on Sunday, April 17, as they play host to Ashford in a non-conference doubleheader at 12:00 p.m. Roosevelt will honor its first four-year senior class as part of the day's festivities.
