CAPE CORAL, Fla. - The Rockford University softball team played a pair of difficult games Thursday morning in Florida. The Regents opened with a 7-1 loss to Emmanuel College and then fell 13-5 in 5 innings to St. Joseph's College of Maine.
Rockford took a 1-0 lead against the Emmanuel College Saints in the first inning despite not recording a hit. The Regents took advantage of a pair of walks and a hit batsman before freshman Alexandra Storey (Dexter Mich.) scored a wild pitch.
That lead would be short lived though as the Saints scored 4 runs in the bottom of the first taking a 4-1 lead and control of the game. Emmanuel added solo runs in the second, fifth and sixth innings to secure the 7-1 win.
Offensively it was a rough day for Rockford as the Regents managed just 1 hit in the game. Alexandra Storey broke up the no-hitter with a single into right field in the third inning. Storey leads Rockford with 10 hits so far this season and holds an impressive .370 batting average.
Inside the circle Brittany Bura (Chicago, Ill.) threw her third complete game of the season. Bura once again threw well allowing just 4 earned runs while striking out 1 and walking none. The junior has now thrown 23 consecutive innings without walking a batter after issuing a walk to the very first batter of the season.
Rockford's second game on Thursday started out in a similar fashion with the Regents grabbing a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Once again it was Alexandra Storey sparking the Rockford offense with a one-out double into right center field. Following a groundout and a walk, Storey scored on a fielding error by St. Joseph's giving her team a 1-run lead.
However, just like in Rockford's previous game, the St. Joseph's College of Maine Monks answered with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning. The Monk's then tacked on 7 runs in the bottom of the second to grab a commanding 9-0 lead.
The Regents did not go away quietly as they answered with a 4-run fourth inning to get themselves back into the game. Singles from Ali Moore (Mascoutah, Ill.) and Lisa Blakeley-Snyder (Winnebago, Ill.) gave Rockford runners on the corners with just one out. Lynn Blakeley-Snyder (Winnebago, Ill.) then drove in the Regents' first run of the inning with an RBI single through the left side of the infield. One batter later, Rockford loaded the bases on a dropped pop up by the Monks' catcher. Freshman Sarah Rizzo (Monee, Ill.) made the Monks pay driving a sacrifice fly into right field to cut the deficit down to six runs. After a throwing error allowed both runner to move up a base, Brittany Bura ripped a 2-run single into center to make it just a 9-5 game. However, the Regents would not get any closer as the Monks got out of the inning two batters.
Following a scoreless bottom of the fourth and top of the fifth the Monks tacked on four runs in the bottom of the fifth making it 13-5 and ending the game.
Despite tallying 8 hits in the game, Rockford had just one player record a multi-hit performance. Lisa Blakeley-Snyder went 2-for-3 with a run scored. Junior Brittany Bura drove in a pair of runs while going 1-for-2 at the plate with walk. Alexandra Storey was 1-for-3 with a double and 2 runs scored, while Lynn Blakeley Snyder went 1-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI.
The softball team concludes its spring trip on Friday in Fort Myers, Fla. at CenturyLink Sports Complex. The Regents open at 9:00 AM EST against Nichols and then will take on Salem St. at 11:00 AM EST.
