Softball team goes 1-3 on the week

By Mike McDonald
Collegian Editor
April 25, 2007

A pair of doubleheaders this weekend for the softball team yielded a total of one win and three losses against Georgetown and St. Bonaventure.

Senior Laura DeZolt throws a pitch Friday afternoon. - Mike Dao

Friday afternoon, Georgetown came to Philadelphia for a non-conference doubleheader with the Explorers. Things got ugly for La Salle quickly in this one.

Georgetown jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the third inning, and the Explorers just could not answer back. In fact, they did not get a hit until the fifth inning. The final score was Georgetown 5, La Salle 0.

Georgetown got on the board early and often in game two of the doubleheader. The Hoyas’ Samantha Peters hit a two-run homer in the first off Explorer freshman Laura Beth McCreesh.

Georgetown added three more in the third to expand their lead to five.

The Explorers’ only offense came in the fourth inning. With one out, freshman third baseman Mary Pat Conville singled. She was then knocked in by senior Laura DeZolt, who doubled. That was all they could muster, though.

Conville had a single in the first inning as well, as she went 2-for-2 on the day.

When the game ended, the Explorers had only three hits to their credit. The final score was Georgetown 5, La Salle 1.

After sweeping the doubleheader, the Hoyas improved to 10-35 on the year. La Salle fell to 12-17.

On Sunday, the Explorers headed north for a doubleheader with St. Bonaventure.

Game One was a great pitchers’ duel, as neither team could get much going at the plate. An unearned run in the second inning was all the Explorers got, but it was all they needed. DeZolt was dominant on the hill all game long.

DeZolt went the distance for the Explorers, throwing a four-hit shutout. She struck out nine en route to her eighth victory of the season.

DeZolt pitched game two as well, and although it wasn’t as spectacular as her game one performance, she did a good job. She threw her second complete game of the day and struck out five hitters.

Despite the good pitching effort from DeZolt, the Explorers couldn’t get the offense they needed down the stretch, and they lost the game, 3-2.

Things got close when sophomore Kelli Curcio and Conville each doubled in the sixth to make it a one-run game, but the team came up short after that. In the end, each team took a game.

When the dust settled, the Explorers found themselves at 13-18 (6-7 A-10), while the Bonnies moved to 12-14 (4-5 A-10) on the season. La Salle will be playing again next on Wednesday afternoon when the Drexel Dragons come to 20th & Olney.

mcdonaldm2@lasalle.edu