03/26/06

The two runs the Saints picked up in the fifth inning were enough for pitcher Laura Heise who picked up the win to push her record to 9-3 on the season.

Missy Erickson reached base on a fielder's choice in the top half of the fifth, then moved to second on a wild pitch. Sara Kneisl moved Erickson to third with a ground out to the pitcher setting the stage for Jody Yurczyk.

Yurczyk laced a single to center field that scored Erickson and put the Saints up 1-0. She came around to score the second run of the inning on the next batter when Kristi Erickson slammed a fat pitch to the wall and raced to third for a triple and RBI.

Heise had been sailing along with a no-hitter up to that point, mowing down the Griffins in order over the first four innings and recording 7 strikeouts. But Fontbonne got one of the runs back with their lead off batter in the bottom of the fifth when Heise surrendered her first hit of the game, a homerun. The next two batters then reached base with a pair of singles, threatening the Saints' lead.

But Heise didn't just end the threat, she slammed the door closed on the Griffins with three consecutive strikeouts to end the inning and preserve the slim lead for the Saints.

Of the final six outs of the game, Heise struck out five including all three batters in the bottom of the seventh.

Heise and Kelly Cordie both finished the game 2 for 3 at the plate, while Yurczyk and Kristi Erickson each collected an RBI.

The Saints pushed their season mark up to 12-5 and stand near the top of the standings at the Invitational with a 4-1 record. Their final game in St. Louis will be against the Washington (Mo.) University Bears who entered the Invitational ranked 7th in the country, with a 12-0 mark this season and riding a 39-game regular season win streak before losing to the Saints in the opening game of the Invitational on Friday. St. Scholastica also beat the Bears on Saturday.