Stenger's blast all Bees need to take down Cougars 1-0
Game 2
Game 2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Ambrose | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
|
Saint Xavier | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | X | 7 | 10 | 2 |
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Ambrose | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
|
Saint Xavier | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
It took just one pitch in the top of the second inning for Kayla Stenger to supply all the offense St. Ambrose would need. The senior catcher deposited the first pitch she saw leading off the second over the wall in left to account for the only run in a 1-0 win at Saint Xavier Wednesday.
Stenger's home run proved to be the only offense St. Ambrose would get. The Bees had just the one hit but Erica Ralfs and Emilee Erickson were up to the challenge. The two combined to strike out seven over seven scoreless innings.
Ralfs earned the win by working the first four innings. She allowed four hits and struck out four. Erickson got the save by surrendering just two hits over the final three frames.
Saint Xavier (25-12, 12-3 CCAC) had base runners in six of the seven innings. The Cougars put two on with nobody out in the fourth before Ralfs struck out the next three. Then in the seventh, SXU loaded the bases with only one out. But Erickson got a pair of pop ups in the infield to escape the jam.
After Stenger's homer, the Cougars retired 15 straight Bees before Cassie Sprout led off the seventh by drawing a walk. Alyssa Schumacher sacrificed her to second, but she was stranded there as Stenger flied out and Paige Kirkman grounded out to end the inning.
The second game of the doubleheader was suspended in the bottom of the first inning of a scoreless tie. SXU had runners on the corners with no outs when lightning forced the game to be stopped. When play resumed on Apr. 26, the Cougars first batter of the restart, ripped a three-run home run to left center for a fast 3-0 lead. SXU tacked on one more run in the first inning. That was all Saint Xavier would need. The Cougars added two more runs in the fifth and another in the sixth while the Bees were limited to three total hits - a Stenger single in the second and back-to-back singles from Ralfs and Schumacher in the sixth.
Kayla Roemer was tagged with the loss. Annebelle Krull worked the final three innings in relief.
St. Ambrose (21-20, 8-5 CCAC) will host Roosevelt Saturday.