Sunday, March 16, 2003

Valparaiso rallied from a 10-1 deficit to tie the game at 10, but eventually fell 12-10 to Detroit on Sunday morning at the Hilltopper Classic.

Detroit scored one in the first and three more in the second before Valpo got on the scoreboard. In the bottom of the third, Kelly Silvey (Indianapolis, Ind./Bishop Chatard H.S.) singled home an unearned run to cut the deficit to three.

The Titans added six in the top of the fourth before the Crusaders scored again. In the fourth, Amanda Gilbertson (Murrieta, Calif./West Albany H.S., Ore.) singled home a run and Silvey plated another on a ground out.

In the fifth, Valpo exploded for seven unearned runs with two outs. Stephanie Reinke's (Parker, Colo./J.K. Mullen H.S.) three-run double provided the big outburst to tie the game.

Detroit came back with single runs in the sixth and seventh to provide the final margin of victory though.

Lisa Ferguson picked up the win in relief for Detroit (9-5), while Gilbertson suffered the loss for the Brown and Gold.

The Crusaders will return to action on Wednesday with a doubleheader at Western Michigan. The first game is slated to begin at 2 p.m. CST.