Softball Sweeps Mary Baldwin

Women’s Tennis Defeats Villa Julie 7-2 as Baseball and Men’s Lacrosse Lose

For More Information Contact: Scott Musa, 540.665.5417

Softball

WINCHESTER, Va. – The SU softball team put in all together Wednesday afternoon to earn its first doubleheader sweep in more than two years with 6-5 and 13-4 victories over Mary Baldwin College.

The game one victory snaps a 29 game losing streak that stretched back to a 9-7 win over Randolph Macon Woman’s College on April 4, 2001 . The nine run triumph in game two gave Shenandoah (2-19) its first sweep since the Hornets turned the trick over Eastern Mennonite on March 30, 2000 .

SU worked hard for the two wins; the hosts had to come back from a 5-0 deficit in the opener and banged out a season high nine hits in game two. After MBC (9-7) stretched its game one lead to 5-0 with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth, the Hornets club answered back with four runs of their own in the bottom of the frame.

Shanel Fisher (Lutz, Fla./South Florida) led off the inning by reaching on a fielding error and scored one batter later as Amanda Long (Antwerp, Ohio/IPFW) tripled to left. Lesley Beard (Youngstown, Ohio/Austintown Fitch) plated Long with a single to center and then moved to third when Katey Wilson (Amissville, Va./Rapphannock) reached on another error.

SU made it 5-3 two batters later on Jennifer Jones’ (Radiant, Va./Madison County) RBI groundout and got to within one when Nichole Raffa (Virginia Beach, Va./Kellam) drew a bases loaded walk.

Shenandoah scored the final two runs it would need in the sixth on two hits and two walks. Nikki Braithwaite (Winchester, Va./James Wood) drove in the tying run with a single to left before Erin May (Hagerstown, Md./Williamsport) gave the hosts the go ahead run by drawing another bases loaded walk.

Beard finished 3 for 3 with an RBI and a run scored while Long was 2 for 4 with two runs scored. She also picked up the win on the mound after giving up five runs (three earned) on 12 hits and one walk against three strikeouts.

Game two remained close until the Hornets busted matters open with 11 runs in the bottom of the fourth on six hits, four walks and two MBC errors. Five of the six SU runs came with two outs and were unearned.

All nine players had at least one RBI in the nightcap with Beard, Braithwaite and Fisher driving in two runs each on two hits.

Long earned the win scattering four runs (two earned) on five hits in 5.0 innings. She struck out one and did not walk a batter.

Complete box scores and plays by play can be found at http://www.su.edu/athletics/sb/2002/teamstat.htm

The Hornets return to Dixie Conference action this weekend with doubleheaders at Methodist on Saturday and NC Wesleyan Sunday.

Women’s Tennis

WINCHESTER, Va. – The SU women’s tennis team snapped its two match losing steak Wednesday afternoon with a 7-2 victory over Villa Julie College.

Shenandoah (6-5) dominated play by winning four of six singles matches and all three doubles matches.

Senior Jen McNeal (Verona, Va./Fort Defiance) once again was a double winner for SU. She improved to 7-2 in singles this spring by defeating Lindsay Cole 10-6 at No. 1 and then combined with Wendy Legge (Stephens City, Va./Sherando) to defeat Cole and Kristina Grissom 8-2 at the top doubles spot.

Click Here for complete results.

Shenandoah hosts Chowan College in a Dixie Conference match on Sunday.

Baseball

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The baseball team fell for the fifth time in the last Dixie Conference games Wednesday afternoon after league leader Christopher Newport University swept SU 4-3 and 22-2.

Game one went 10 innings; CNU (19-7, 8-0) achieved the victory with a single, a sacrifice and then Jon Hurd’s RBI single to center.

Freshman Matt MacDonald (Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne) and junior Chris Zaia (Macungie, Pa./Emmaus) both had two hits for SU. MacDonald finished 2 for 4 with 3 RBI, two of which came on a seventh inning home run.

Sophomore JR Creamer (Lovettsville, Va./Loudoun Valley) took the loss in relief after giving up three hits and the winning run in 2.1 innings.  Seth Foster (Alexandria, Va./Hayfield) left after striking out seven in seven innings of work. CNU touched him for nine hits and three runs (two earned) in that time.

Game two started at 3:30 but did not finish until 8:30 due to a more than two hour rain delay. The Captains held a 13-1 lead in the top of the fifth when the showers hit; things did not get better for the Hornets after the weather cleared.

Senior John Cowell (Devon, Pa./Conestoga) was 3 for 5, Tommy Delaney (Fairfax Station, Va./Hayfield) 2 for 5 with an RBI and MacDonald 2 for 5 to lead Justin Cronk’s offense.

Creamer became the Hornets first SU pitcher to lose both ends of a doubleheader since Joel Carl in 1997 when he was chased midway through the second after giving up six runs on six hits and three walks.

Complete box scores and plays by play can be found on the SU web page at http://www.su.edu/athletics/bb/2002/teamstat.htm

Shenandoah continues its Dixie Conference road trip this weekend with games at Methodist on Saturday and Sunday.

Men’s Lacrosse

WINCHESTER, Va. – The men’s lacrosse team saw its losing streak reach seven Tuesday night as Goucher College took a 12-5 non-league victory.

Shenandoah (1-7) has not won since defeating Centenary 15-14 in the March 2 season opener.

The Hornets held a 1-0 lead after 15 minutes of play, but saw the Gophers (5-5) take a lead they would never relinquish with four goals in the second.

GC extended its advantage by scoring another six unanswered goals in the third, including three in a 21 second span in the final minute of the period. SU finally halted the onslaught when Elmer Baker (Fort Montgomery, N.Y./O’Neill) had an unassisted tally with eight seconds left.

Ashley Tarran-Jones led the Gophers with three goals and an assist while Ian Montgomery added two goals and two assists.

Goucher did an excellent job shutting down the Hornets shooters; Baker and Chris Keller (Smithsburg, Md./Smithsburg) led the hosts with two points each on one goal and one assist.

Goalkeeper Dave Behan (Holtsville, N.Y./Sachem) turned in his strongest performance of the season with 17 saves in 45 minutes of play. He gave up 10 goals.

A complete box score can be found at http://www.su.edu/athletics/mlax/2002/mlx0403.htm

Shenandoah travels to Mary Washington Saturday afternoon for a 2:00 non-league contest.

Shenandoah University offers 16 intercollegiate sports, eight for men and eight for women. For further information, please contact the Office of Athletic Communications at 540-665-5417 or visit our web site at http://www.su.edu/athletics. For Dixie Conference Information, please visit the Dixie Conference home page: http://www.dixieconference.com.

Shenandoah University is a comprehensive Level V private university with an enrollment of approximately 2,500 students in five schools: School of Arts & Sciences, Harry F. Byrd Jr. School of Business, Shenandoah Conservatory, Bernard J. Dunn School of Pharmacy and the School of Health Professions (Athletic Training, Nursing, Physician Assistant, Respiratory Care, Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy). The University offers more than 60 programs of study at the undergraduate, graduate and professional levels.