Sunday, April 09, 2006

Taylor Callahan (Pendergrass, Ga./Greater Atlanta Christian) slugged her first home run of the season in the first inning of Sunday's second game at IUPUI, leading the Brown and Gold to a 7-3 win and a split of the day's action after the Jaguars took game one 2-0.

Callahan's longball came three batters after Alicia Ashburn (Mishawaka, Ind./Mishawaka) singled to lead off the game, and gave the Crusaders a 2-0 advantage. The homer was the fifth of the junior's career, moving her into a tie with Tricia Speziale for fifth place on the all-time list.

After IUPUI scored single runs in the second and third to tie the game, Beth Adamski (Saint John, Ind./Lake Central) continued her hot hitting with a two-out, two-run double in the fifth. Adamski has now recorded seven hits in her last eight games after five in her first 20 contests of the season.

The Jaguars scored again in the sixth to get within one, but Callahan started a three-run seventh with an RBI triple to right-center field. The next batter, Shannon Robinson (Toronto, Ontario/John Redmond), laid down a bunt single, stole second, and watched Callahan score on a base hit to left off the bat of freshman Ashley Wolter (Denver, Iowa/Denver). Robinson scored the seventh Crusader run one batter later on a fielder's choice from Adamski.

Stephanie Kelly (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield) pitched 4.2 innings in relief to earn the win, while Angelica Espinosa took the loss.

In the first game of the day, IUPUI's (10-23, 5-6 Mid-Con) Devan Craig was outstanding, going the distance and limiting the Crusaders to only four hits. Chris Halstead (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) was also strong in the circle, but allowed two runs on three hits in the IUPUI fourth, falling to 3-4 on the season.

Courtney LaFerle (Elgin, Ill./Larkin) was the only Crusader with two hits in the game, notching Valpo's first hit of the game in the fifth and following it up with another single in the seventh.

The Brown and Gold (12-18, 4-8 Mid-Con) will return to the diamond Tuesday afternoon for a non-conference doubleheader against Northern Illinois at the Valparaiso University Softball Field. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 3:00 p.m., and all the action can be heard live on 95.1 FM, WVUR, and online at www.valpo.edu/athletics.

Game one box score
Game two box score