Friday, April 08, 2005

Valparaiso split a Mid-Continent Conference doubleheader with UMKC on Friday evening in Kansas City, Mo.

The Crusaders dropped the opener 3-0 before bouncing back with a 7-4 victory in the nightcap.

Game one saw the Kangaroos' Jessica Heimann limit the Crusaders to just one hit, a lead-off single to Shannon Robinson in the sixth. UMKC scored single runs in the first, fourth, and fifth against three Valpo pitchers.

In the nightcap, Megan Carroll went 3-for-4 with three RBIs to help lead Valpo to victory. Courtney LaFerle put Valpo in front in the second with a solo homerun. The Crusaders added four in the fifth on six hits and two Kangaroo errors. A Carroll double in the sixth plated two more runs for the Brown and Gold, giving Valpo a 7-0 lead.

UMKC rallied in the seventh, scoring four times, but the Crusaders held on for the win. Brittany Atteberry went 6 1/3 innings for the win while Chris Halstead got the final two outs for her first save. Taylor Callahan also had two hits for Valpo in the win.

Valparaiso (2-26, 2-8 Mid-Con) and UMKC (5-29, 1-5) will conclude their four-game weekend series on Saturday with another doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.