Lady Cougars Pound out 32 Hits and Collect Two Wins


	Lady Cougar Softball Recap Lady Cougars Pound out 32 Hits and Collect Two Wins written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director Game #1 Boxscore \| Game #2 Boxscore CLERMONT, Fla. (3-17-2010) - The Mount Vernon Nazarene University women’s fastpitch softball team finally got its offense going as the Lady Cougars pounded out 32 hits on Wednesday as MVNU downed Dordt (Iowa) College 11-5 and Saint Thomas Aquinas (N.Y.) College 7-0 in action on the team’s spring trip. After going 27.1 innings without scoring a run, MVNU (3-4) had practice on the team’s scheduled off-day on Tuesday. That practice paid immediate dividends as the Lady Cougars pounded out 20 hits in the first game against Dordt (1-7) on Wednesday. The scoreless streak came to an end at 28.2 innings when senior outfielder Lauretta Wallace singled in a run with one out in the top of the second inning to give MVNU the early 1-0 lead. Six more hits later, the Lady Cougars held a 6-0 lead with senior shortstop Tasha Konkle and senior first baseman Michelle Gastin each driving in two runs apiece in the inning. After Dordt cut the lead to 6-2 in the bottom of the second inning, MVNU responded with three runs in the top of the third inning to build a 9-2 lead. Gastin had the big blow with a bases-clearing single to plate all three runs. The two teams traded runs in the fourth and fifth innings with sophomore outfielder MacKenzie Shaw plating a run for the Lady Cougars in the top of the fourth inning and senior catcher Caitlin Murphy blasting a solo home run leading off the top of the fifth inning as the lead was 11-4 for MVNU. Dordt got a run in the bottom of the seventh inning to pull within 11-5, but that was as close as they would get as the Lady Cougars snapped their four-game losing skid. Junior lefty Stephanie Burlew (2-1) earned the win for MVNU as she scattered 11 hits, one walk, and five runs over seven innings with four strikeouts. Meanwhile, Gastin paced the offense by going 4-for-5 with five RBI. Wallace and junior second baseman Kristin Kurelic added three hits apiece, and Shaw, Murphy, freshman third baseman Loren Thomas, and senior outfielder Leslie Banichar each finished with two hits. In the second game of the day, MVNU took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning against Saint Thomas Aquinas (Mich.) College as Thomas drove in a run with a two-out single. The score remained that way until the bottom of the sixth inning when the Lady Cougars broke the game wide open by stringing together five hits and taking advantage of two errors to score six runs and go in front 7-0. Murphy had the big blow in the inning - a bases-loaded three-run double - while Gastin also had an RBI single. That was more than enough run support for freshman right-hander Morgan Coburn (1-1) (right), who allowed just five hits and five walks to go with four strikeouts as she posted her first college win and shutout. Thomas went 3-for-4 to pace the offense, while Murphy had two hits and three RBI. Gastin and Kurelic also had two hits apiece. MVNU will close out its spring trip with two games on Thursday. The Lady Cougars will face Bates (Maine) College at 5:30 p.m. and the University of Massachusetts-Lowell at 7:30 p.m.

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