04/11/07

Four unearned runs in the bottom of the fifth inning launched UW-River Falls (17-5) past St. Scholastica (6-10) in a 4-2 Saints loss in game two of a doubleheader against the Falcons on Wednesday night in the Rosemount Irish Dome.

St. Scholastica, for the second game in a row, jumped out to the initial lead when they scored twice in the top of the fourth inning.

Brenna Zavodnik led off the inning with a single to center. Following two failed attempts to move Zavodnik up, Erica Kozacek smashed a two-out, two-run homerun to left-center field that gave the Saints a 2-0 lead.

Saints pitcher Amy Jansen got out of jams in both the first and fourth innings before three errors did their damage in the fifth.

Jansen induced the first two Falcons batters into infield ground outs before surrendering a single to the third batter in the inning. Jansen then rang up a strikeout to end the inning but a dropped third strike and throwing error kept the inning alive for River Falls.

Four runs later the Saints found themselves looking up at the Falcons for the second game in a row after suffering through an error-filled inning that produced multiple unearned runs for their opponent.

The closest the Saints would come to threatening the lead would be a pair of back-to-back, two-out singles from Riley Dawson and Kozacek in the top of the sixth. A close call at first on a soft roller to the right of the pitcher off Kayla Kahilainen's bat went the Falcons' way and ended the Saints threat, though.

The Saints went down in order in the seventh to preserve the lead and close out the win for the Falcons.

Jansen pitched six innings without surrendering an earned run but took the loss on the mound for the Saints. She allowed only five hits and a walk while striking out four.