Published Wednesday, May 07, 2008 10:45 AM
Updated Wednesday, May 07, 2008 10:46 AM
Stratford’s Morgan Kilgallen hits a double to send two runners home allowing the Lady Knights to take a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the fifth.
Lady Knights slay Bruins, 11-5
The Lady Knights continued their playoff run with an 11-5 victory over South Florence Monday.
“We want to beat South Florence,” Stratford’s Jordan Smith said before the season began. Smith and the Lady Knights accomplished that goal, with a come-from-behind victory late in the game.
With SHS down 3-0 going into the bottom of the fifth, singles by Stratford’s Erin Schattle and Kristen James combined with two walked batters narrowed South Florence’s lead to two with the bases loaded and no outs.
A single by Smith brought the Lady Knights within one before an RBI double by Morgan Kilgallen sent runners for home giving Stratford a 4-3 lead.
“It felt great when the ball came off the bat and I saw our runners score,” Kilgallen said. “We were having some trouble getting runners home in the first couple innings, but we didn’t give up and we took the lead.”
With two outs and two runners on, back-to-back doubles by Leah Babson and Marielena Santos gave Stratford a 7-3 lead before the side was retired.
“The team chained together some solid hitting in the fifth,” Stratford Head Coach Debra Tolar said. “We were down most of the game but the team didn’t let that affect their playing,”
Stratford’s pitcher Caroline Pastre kept the Bruins from retaking the lead, striking out two of the three batters in the top of the sixth.
“She had a few tough innings early in the game,” pitching coach Marissa Echenique said. “They got a few good hits off her but she maintained her composure and helped keep runners off base.”
The Lady Knights began the bottom of the sixth with back-to-back singles from Cristy Hudson and Casey Miller. A double to right field by Smith drive in Stratford’s eighth run of the night. With no outs and two runners on, singles by Kilgallen and Katelyn Rush combined with a stand up double Schattle brought the score to 11-3 before the end of the inning.
“We really got something going out there tonight,” Smith said. “We were able to capitalize on some solid hitting and a few errors by South Florence. I’m really happy with the way the team never got distracted even when we were down, and it allowed us to pull out a big victory tonight.”
Pastre and the defense closed out the game in the top of the seventh, but not before the Bruins scored two more runs in a last effort, but it was too little, too late, as the Lady Knights claimed an 11-5 win.
“The team has been playing extremely well through the playoffs,” Tolar said. “We had some trouble closing out the game but we came back from being down and I couldn’t be more happy with the win.”