Syracuse University
St. John's
Morales Helps SU to Split Against St. John's
4/13/2003 5:16:21 PM | Softball
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Freshman Cassie Morales drove in the winning run with a pinch hit double in the bottom of the seventh inning to lead the Syracuse softball team to a 3-2 victory in the first game of a doubleheader versus St. John's on Sunday, April 13. The Red Storm split the twin bill with a 5-4 win in game two.
Syracuse is 10-18 overall and 4-6 in the BIG EAST, while St. John's stands at 19-21 and 6-6 in the conference.
Morales' double was the Orangewomen's first pinch hit of the season. It also marked the first time this season Syracuse won a game in which it was tied or trailed after the fifth inning. Her double was her team-leading sixth of the season and one of only two hits in the game for SU.
St. John's used clutch hitting of its own to take the nightcap. The Orangewomen led, 4-3, with one out in the top of the seventh, but Alesha Argeras and Allina Sainz hit back-to-back solo home runs to take a 5-4 lead. Junior second baseman Rachel Park made a bid to tie the game, but her long drive to left-center field in the bottom of the seventh couldn't get through a stiff wind and was caught on the warning track.
Senior pitcher Tara DiMaggio earned both decisions for Syracuse. She won the first game, tossing her 10th complete game of the season. DiMaggio (7-9) allowed five hits and no earned runs, striking out five. She was the losing pitcher in relief in game two, throwing two innings and allowing two runs, both on the Red Storm's home runs, on three hits. Courtney Fitzgerald (16-14) had both decisions for St. John's, losing the first game despite allowing only two hits and winning the second game in relief.
Morales also came up with a clutch hit in the second game. With two outs and runners on the corners in a 3-3 game, Morales beat out an infield hit to put SU ahead, 4-3 in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Senior Kristin Collins drove in two runs on the day for SU. She has now had an RBI in three straight games. Collins drove in the Orangewomen's first run in game one with her first triple of the season, and plated SU's initial run in the second game with a perfectly executed squeeze bunt. Sophomore Tanya Rose had two hits in the second game, scoring a run. She had an RBI in the opener. Rose stole two bases in the nightcap, running her consecutive steals streak to 16. Park went 1-for-4 in the second game with an RBI double.
The loss in the second game was SU's first of the season when leading after five innings.
The Orangewomen will play a non-conference doubleheader, hosting Hofstra on Tuesday, April 15 at 3 p.m. SU also is at home next weekend, taking on Notre Dame at 12 p.m. on Saturday, April 19.
