Feb. 14, 2004

Box Score

FLORENCE, Ala. - The Lewis University softball team played two thrilling games on the final day of the North Alabama Invitational and came away with a split on the afternoon.

The Flyers (1-3) dropped a 5-3 nine-inning affair to Southern Arkansas in the morning before recording their first win of the season with a 5-4 defeat of host North Alabama.

Trailing 1-0 and being no-hit with two outs in the seventh inning against Southern Arkansas, Missy Krueger walked to keep the team alive. Beth Shelus pinch ran for Krueger and brought home the tying run when Amy Yusko ended the shutout and no-hit bid with an RBI triple.

With the international tiebreaker in place, Southern Arkansas scored a run in the top of the eighth inning. The Flyers answered with a run in the bottom of the eighth on an RBI single by senior Elaina Ktistou.

Southern Arkansas loaded the bases in the ninth and scored three runs on a bases-clearing double that won them the game. Lewis scored a run in the bottom of the ninth, but it wasn't enough.

Mary Jaszczak (0-2) shouldered the loss after going the distance and striking out four.

The final game of the tournament pitted the Flyers against North Alabama. UNA put the Flyers down 4-0 on a grand slam home run in the fourth inning, however the Lewis quickly answered with four runs in the top of the fifth inning.

Jaszczak began the rally with a single. Debbie Peterson came on to pinch run for her and scored on Kalynn Russell (Belleville, Ill./Belleville East)'s RBI triple. Stacy Davis followed with a walk, before Beth Shelus brought Russell home with an RBI single. Ktistou kept things going when she reached on an error. Robin Martz capped the rally with two-run single that tied the game at 4-all.

Russell reached on an infield single in the top of the seventh that led to the game-winning run. Freshman Christina Willis pinch ran for Russell and advanced to second on a sacrifice by Davis. Ktistou delivered the game-winning hit with an RBI single through the middle of the infield.

Senior pitcher Carrie Paradzinski (1-1) produced her second straight dominant outing. With the exception of the fourth inning where she surrendered four runs on four hits, Paradzinski tamed the Lions. She recorded 10 strikeouts with zero walks and held UNA to six hit for the game.

Lewis will return to practicing for the next two weeks as it prepares for its annual Florida spring trip. The team will play 10 games in a week's span from Feb. 29-Mar. 5.

2/14/04