04/26/07

Game two of Wednesday's doubleheader against visiting UW-Stout came down to fielding for the Saints.

Starting Saints pitcher Amy Jansen surrendered three singles in a two-run third but with two outs an error after the first single should have ended the inning without any damage to the Saints early 1-0 lead.

An Erica Kozacek homerun in the bottom of the fourth that brought in Michaela Carlson who had led the inning off with a double pushed the Saints back on top 3-2, though.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Saints left runners stranded at second and third, potential insurance runs that would prove to be costly by not scoring.

Two errors and one single in the top of the seventh allowed Stout to steal the lead back, 4-3, and make the Saints regret the runners left on base in the sixth.

St. Scholastica got a two-out walk in the bottom of the seventh but Stout starting pitcher Kristy Hoffman coaxed an easy ground out to second that would end the game giving the Blue Devils (14-16) the 4-3 win and the doubleheader split.

Jansen (3-7) took the loss for St. Scholastica (15-15) despite spreading out six hits with no earned runs, walking only two Blue Devils, and striking out five.

Kozacek, last week’s conference Player of the Week in the UMAC, was 6-for-7 — including two homeruns — with four RBI, three stolen bases and five runs scored on the day.