May 8, 2008

Box Score

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - It took two days and eight innings, but the Lewis Flyers managed to squeak out a thrilling 4-3 win over West Virginia Wesleyan Thursday afternoon in the opening round of the 2008 NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional Tournament on the campus of top-seeded Southern Illinois Edwardsville.

The Flyers and Bobcats were tied 3-3 in the bottom of the sixth on Wednesday before torrential rains washed out play for the rest of the day. The game resumed on Thursday with Lewis batting in the sixth with two out.

Junior Lisa Gartland (Escanaba, Mich./Escanaba)'s two-out single to right field in the bottom of the eighth scored junior Kelly Dianis from second with the game-winning run. Dianis reached with a two-out single earlier in the inning. She advanced to second on a steal. Junior Carissa Castonzo drew a walk in the next at-bat to bring up Gartland.

Gartland dumped a clean single into a soaked right field. The Bobcats' right fielder struggled for a split-second to get a good grip on the wet ball, but Dianis scored easily ahead of the throw home.

Lewis led the game 2-0 through three innings, getting two runs in the second, but the Bobcats scored once in the fourth and two times in the fifth to take a 3-2 lead.

Senior Mallory Paine tied the game in the fifth when she hit a RBI-single to left. Junior Jessica Beck led off the fifth with a single up the middle. She stole second and then went to third on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore Kara Harmatys.

Lewis' first two runs crossed plate thanks to a two-run single by Harmatys.

Junior Courtney Lyons (20-5) earned the win in the circle, becoming just the fifth Lewis pitcher and first since 2001 to win 20 games in a season. Lyons pitched the entire game and struck out eight batters. The Bobcats had runners on first and second with one out in the eighth before Lyons struck out the final two batters to preserve the tie.

Lewis had no extra-base hits in the game, but also received singles by senior Carla Musillo and freshman Stephanie Harmon.

The Flyers (38-16) return to action Friday, facing Ferris State at 11 a.m. The Bulldogs defeated Saginaw Valley State 1-0 on Wednesday to advance in the winner's bracket.