ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Friday, March 9, 2007

Elizabethtown Softball Team Goes 4-4 in Florida to Open 2007 Season; Blue Jays Bring Home Three-Game Winning Streak

FT. MYERS, Fla. --- Elizabethtown College opened its 2007 season this week by going 4-4 in Ft. Myers, Florida. The Blue Jays won their last three games in a row in Ft. Myers. Elizabethtown opened its season Monday, March 5 with a pair of losses, falling 8-3 to the University of Mary Washington and 11-2 in five innings to Tri-State University. On Tuesday, March 6, the Blue Jays got their first win of the season, 14-2 in five innings over Alverno College, and Elizabethtown fell 5-2 to Worcester Polytechnic Institute. On Thursday, March 8, Elizabethtown fell 1-0 to the University of Dubuque and won 10-1 in five innings over St. John Fisher College. Elizabethtown picked up two more wins Friday, defeating Rockford College 10-1 and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 6-5.

Against Mary Washington Monday, Elizabethtown fell 8-3 as the Blue Jays were held to just four hits.

In the 11-2 loss to Tri-State Monday, the Blue Jays totaled six hits. Senior center fielder Kelli Thon (Victor, NY/Victor Central) batted 2-for-3 with two runs scored and a stolen base. Junior designated player Abbie Merrifield (York, PA/Dallastown) batted 2-for-3 with one RBI against Tri-State.

In Elizabethtown’s 14-2 win over Alverno Tuesday, the Blue Jays gathered eight hits, all of which were singles, and drew ten walks. Thon hit 3-for-5 with two runs scored and a stolen base. First-year shortstop Paige Tanner (Waynesboro, PA/Waynesboro Area) scored three times and drove in a run. Merrifield, catching against Alverno, drove in three runs. Melissa Keeler (Hazleton, PA/Bishop Hafey) hit 1-for-2 with a run and two RBI from off the bench, and Jessica Russ (Media, PA/Penncrest) went 1-for-3 with a run, an RBI and a sacrifice fly. Marian Guzik (Greensburg, PA/Hempfield Area) batted 1-for-3 with two runs, one RBI and two walks. Junior pitcher Alex Lee (Emmaus, PA/Emmaus) struck out seven batters in five innings en route to her first win of the season.

Facing WPI Tuesday, the Blue Jays fell 5-2 as Worcester Polytech out-hit the Blue Jays 11-8. Merrifield went 1-for-4 with an RBI, and Thon hit 1-for-4 with a run and another stolen base. Ryan Allard (Londonderry, NH/Londonderry) went 1-for-3 with an RBI at the plate, and Lauren Hoover (Reading, PA/Oley Valley) batted 1-for-3 with a run scored.

Against Dubuque Thursday, Lee pitched a four hitter, struck out six and allowed just one walk and one unearned run, but she still wound up on the short end of 1-0 loss. Thon batted 2-for-3 in that game.

Facing St. John Fisher Thursday, the game was tied 1-1 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning. Elizabethtown then scored nine runs in the bottom of the fifth to trigger the eight-run rule and seal the win. Lee came back to pitch the entire game against St. John Fisher as well, and she allowed just three hits, three walks and one run in five innings while striking out six. Thon went 3-for-4 with three runs and two RBI at the plate. Guzik hit 2-for-3 with one run, two RBI and a sacrifice, and Merrifield batted 1-for-3 with a triple, a run and an RBI. Sarah Church (Aston, PA/Sun Valley) hit 1-for-3 with a run and two RBI, and Russ and Tanner each batted 1-for-2 with a run and an RBI.

Details of Friday’s 10-1 win over Rockford and 6-5 win over RPI are presently unavailable.