ROSEMONT, Ill. – Despite opening an early 2-0 lead in the night cap, the Edgewood College softball team dropped a heartbreaker after Dominican rallied and secured the win with a bases loaded, walkoff single in the eighth inning to win, 3-2. The Eagles surrendered a 2-1 lead in the opener and ultimately lost, 8-2, on Monday afternoon.
Led by starting pitcher Shannon Whitmus (3-19), the Eagles retired all three Stars in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings. The Eagle offense suffered the same fate in the top of the eighth to set up the game-winning hit by Dominican. A single, fielding error, and walk set up a bases loaded situation with two outs and was finished off by Marissa Burns' game-winning single to left center.
It was the only unearned run given up by the Eagles all game and led to a tough defeat in only their second extra inning game of the season thus far. The Eagles defeated Curry on a walkoff error in the eighth inning during their Orlando spring break trip.
Left fielder Sarah Elliott drove in the game's first run on an RBI double down the left field line, and later scored on Karly Vigani's squeeze bunt to put the Eagles up 2-0 in the second inning. The Stars (23-9, 8-6) countered with an RBI single in the bottom half of the inning and utilized a squeeze bunt of their own to tie it up in the fifth.
Center fielder Grace Delleman finished with a team-high two hits as part of a seven-hit performance by the Eagles. On the mound, Whitmus tossed arguably her best game of the NACC season after giving up just three runs (two earned), allowing seven hits, and striking out six in 7.2 innings of work.
Pinch-hitting catcher Katie Fredrick posted a 3-for-4 performance with one RBI and one to lead the Stars.
In the opener, the Eagles (3-24, 1-12 NACC) took a brief 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth thanks to a Jordan Anderson RBI single to left field and a sacrifice fly to center by Hannah Parisi. Both Alyssa Hickey and Grace Delleman scored, respectively, after leading off with a pair of singles.
Starting pitcher Shannon Whitmus forced a three up, three down situation for the Stars to retain the lead in the bottom of the fourth. It was short lived as the Stars added five runs in the fifth and two scores in the sixth on a combined seven hits. They finished with 11 on the game.
Whitmus allowed eight runs (seven earned) and 11 hits over 6.0 innings.
The Eagles will face Maranatha Baptist University in their final non-conference doubleheader of the season on the road this Friday, April 21 at 3:00 p.m. in Watertown, Wis.
