Softball | Hawks open season with 2-2 split in North Carolina

The Saint Joseph's softball team had a successful opening weekend to the 2010 campaign. In splitting four games in Chapel Hill, N.C., the Hawks found themselves runners-up in the Carolina Classic.

The team advanced all the way to the championship game Sunday, playing the host and nationally-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels. Carolina pitcher Danielle Spaulding struck out 11 of the 19 batters she faced in hurling a complete-game no-hitter.  Hawk third baseman Monica Aguilar, '12, was the only Hawk to reach base, doing so by virtue of a walk.  It was Spaulding's second no-hitter of the three-day tournament—she had thrown a no-hitter against Delaware Friday morning in the tournament's opening game—earning her tournament Most Valuable Player honors.

While the hitters were swinging and missing at the plate, the Hawks did not help themselves defensively. Four errors paved the way for six Tar Heel runs en route to an 8-0 loss. Taryn Ashway, '13, was charged with the loss in relief of starter Erin Gallagher, '12, who allowed four unearned runs. Ashway surrendered two earned runs in 3.1 innings. 

While this ending may send the Hawks home with a bad taste in their mouths, they did play well on the weekend. The Hawks also opened the tournament Friday against the Tar Heels and played them much closer.

Catcher Brooke Darreff, '10, knocked in three runs, two of them by way of a home run, in a 6-3 loss against the nation's 23rd-ranked squad. Gallagher took the loss, going five innings, surrendering four runs—two of them earned—on three hits, striking out four and walking three. Ashway relieved her for the final two innings and allowed two earned runs.

The Hawks managed to go 2-0 on Saturday, beating both Delaware and UNC-Greensboro, two teams who squared off in the Bronze Medal game Sunday afternoon. 

In the first game, St. Joe's rode on the back of Gallagher, who allowed only two hits to the Delaware Blue Hens in a 6-0 Hawk victory.  Gallagher struck out eight improving her season record to 1-1. 

The Hawks were helped offensively by four Delaware errors. Second baseman Bernadette Moran, '12, led the offensive charge, going two for four from the plate while knocking in two runs. Left fielder Deanna Stinner, '13, and first baseman Alaina Loguidice, '12, each chipped in an RBI for the Hawks as well.  Aguilar also picked up a pair of hits in the offensive effort.

Pitching and defense prevailed in Saturday's second game for the Hawks.  Gallagher pitched six innings, allowing only an unearned run, and Ashway threw three scoreless innings as the Hawks defeated the UNC Greensboro Spartans 2-1 in nine innings. 

Right fielder Dana Parks, '13, led the offense for the Hawks, collecting three hits on the afternoon. None of these hits amounted to anything, however, as the Hawks could not score until the top of the ninth inning. Taylor Korpita, '11, broke the scoreless tie in the ninth, scoring an unearned run when Stinner picked up a sacrifice fly to left field in foul territory. The Hawks picked up an insurance run later in the inning when Rochelle Christman, '13, crossed the plate by way of a Greensboro error.

Greensboro managed to make the game interesting by scoring a run on an RBI single by designated hitter Eileen Horsmon. But after that, Gallagher was able to shut the door and preserve the Hawk win—a win which earned them a place in Sunday's championship game against North Carolina.

The Hawks will look to build on their success at the Carolina Classic when they return to action this weekend with a home series against Longwood.