Harford Softball Struggles with Miscues, Falls to Southern Maryland, 9-1, in Region XX Play-In

From the HCC news desk:

WYE MILLS, Md.—The No. 7 Harford softball team managed just three hits and committed three errors as it fell, 9-1, to No. 6 College of Southern Maryland in the Region XX Play-In game last Wednesday at Chesapeake College. The Fighting Owls finish the season with a 13-24 record, while the Hawks (11-11) advanced to the second round of play-in games, where they fell to host No. 3 Chesapeake.

Sophomore Jourdan Harmon (Baltimore, Md./Catholic) led Harford, going 2-for-3 on the day, while sophomore Lauren Springel (Rising Sun, Md./Rising Sun) tallied the only other hit, going 1-for-1 with a double and reaching base twice on walks.

Sophomore Katie Irwin (Edgewood, Md./Harford Tech) was tabbed with the loss after giving up five runs (two earned) on five hits and striking out three in two innings, while Christina Pasquini allowed just one run to cross on three hits and struck out five in the six-inning win.

Pasquini was also 3-for-4 from the plate with one run scored and two RBI, while Megan Sturman went 2-for-3 with two runs scored, three RBI, a double and a walk.

The Hawks took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first thanks to Sturman’s two-run RBI double, but Harford would keep them within on as sophomore Jocelyn Kelly (Fallston, Md./Fallston) registered an RBI single in the top of the second.

The Owls troubles began in the bottom of the second as the first two CSM batters reached on base hits and advanced into scoring position on a groundout to first. Kim Leatherman should have played the part of the second out, but reached on a dropped third strike to load the bases before Christina Hutchinson’s fielder’s choice resulted in the force out at home, which would have ended the inning without the miscue.

Instead, Sturman walked in a run and Pasquini tacked on a two-run RBI single to give the Hawks a 5-1 lead after two innings.

Freshman Sarah Cooley (Clermont, Fla./Bel Air) took the mound for the Owls in the third and should have seen a one-two-three inning, but yet another Harford error allowed a CSM run to cross the plate and the bad luck would continue in the fourth as a fielding error with two outs on the board let in two more runs to give the Hawks a 8-1 advantage through four innings of play.

Harford would strand one runner each in next chance at the plate, setting up the Hawks’ sixth inning. Sturman took the form of the winning run after reaching on a third Harford error and stole second before Pasquini advanced her to third with a single. A fielder’s choice from Allison Sloan was all that was needed as Sturman beat the throw to the plate to score the ninth, winning run which gave the Hawks an eight-run lead.

The Automated ScoreBook
#7 Harford vs #6 Coll. of Southern Md
Apr 29, 2009 at Wye Mills, Md. (Chesapeake College)

Harford 1 (13-24)

Player AB R H BI
Werneke, Audrey cf 2 0 0 0
Kelly, Jocelyn rf 2 0 0 1
Morrill, Sarah 2b 3 0 0 0
Harmon, Jourdan 1b 3 0 2 0
Cooley, Sarah dp/p 3 0 0 0
Deaver, Cherish 3b 1 1 0 0
Testerman, Cara c 2 0 0 0
Stumpf, Jessica ss 3 0 0 0
Springel, Lauren lf 1 0 1 0
Irwin, Katie p 0 0 0 0
Totals…… 20 1 3 1

Coll. of Southern Md 9 (11-11)

Player AB R H BI
Leatherman, Kim ss 3 2 1 0
Hutchinson, Cristina cf 3 2 0 0
Sturman, Megan 3b 3 2 2 3
Pasquini, Christina p 4 1 3 2
Sloan, Allison c 3 0 0 1
Lyles, Ashley 2b 3 1 0 0
Martin, Brooke 1b 3 0 2 1
Aulisio, Helene lf 3 1 1 0
Hebron, Chantal rf 3 0 0 0
Totals…… 28 9 9 7

Score by Innings R H E
—————————————
Harford…………. 010 000 – 1 3 3
Coll. of Southern Md 231 201 – 9 9 0
—————————————

Note: None out, 2 runners LOB when the game ended.

E – Morrill(16); Stumpf 2(10). DP – Harford 1; Coll. S.Md. 1. LOB – Harford 9; Coll.
S.Md. 8. 2B – Springel(4); Sturman; Martin. SB – Sturman.

Harford IP H R ER BB SO WP BK HP IBB AB BF FO GO
Irwin, Katie L,5-14 2.0 5 5 2 2 3 0 0 0 0 12 14 0 4
Cooley, Sarah 3.0 4 4 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 16 18 5 2

Coll. of Southern Md IP H R ER BB SO WP BK HP IBB AB BF FO GO
Pasquini, Christina W 6.0 3 1 1 8 5 0 0 0 0 20 28 5 7

PB – Testerman(15).

Strikeouts – Morrill 2; Cooley; Deaver; Stumpf; Leatherman 2; Sloan; Lyles. Walks –
Werneke 2; Kelly; Deaver 2; Testerman; Springel 2; Leatherman; Hutchinson; Sturman;
Sloan.

Umpires –
Start: Time: Attendance:

Cooley faced 3 batters in the 6th.
Game: GM37CSM