Crusaders Force Landmark Softball Championship Game May 9 at Moravian

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Susquehanna University won a pair of games on Day Two of the Landmark Conference softball championships at Moravian College's Blue & Grey Field on May 8 to force a winner-takes-all championship game with Moravian on May 9.

No. 2-seeded Susquehanna (32-10 overall) eliminated fourth-seeded Juniata College (20-17 overall), 6-5 in eight innings, before defeating No. 1-seeded Moravian (29-12 overall), 6-3, in a standard seven-inning affair.

Juniata eliminated third-seeded The University of Scranton (15-17 overall), 7-6, earlier on May 8 before facing SU.

Moravian then watched Susquehanna come from behind to beat the Eagles and join it in the championship round. Since SU then defeated the Greyhounds in the first championship-round game, a final championship-round game will now be played on Sunday, May 9, at 12 p.m.

This double-elimination tournament originally scheduled a possible winner-takes-all game for May 8, but a late start that day due to rainy field conditions pushed the schedule back one more day.

The winner of the May 9 game will earn the 2010 Landmark title and the automatic invitation to the NCAA Division III championships that comes with it, though Moravian and Susquehanna--ranked Nos. 3 and 4 in the latest Division III East Region poll--are both strong possibilities for an at-large invitation to the NCAA playoffs anyway.

The Crusaders defeated Juniata in dramatic fashion on May 8. With the game tied at 2 in the top of the seventh inning, the Eagles got a one-out, three-run homerun to right centerfield to take the lead.

SU would fight back, scratching out three runs of its own in the bottom half of the inning, all coming with two outs.

Sophomore outfielder Lisa Finizio (Oakland, N.J./Indian Hills) started things off with a one-out single to leftfield, followed by an infield single to the shortstop by junior infielder Brennan Balfour (Cape Elizabeth, Maine/Cape Elizabeth). After senior catcher Kelli Holota (Spring Lake, N.J./Livingston) reached on a fielder's choice--moving Finizio to third base--a wild pitch scored Finizio and moved Holota to second.

Junior infielder Shelly Landis (Souderton, Pa./Christopher Dock Mennonite) then drew a walk and was pinch ran for by senior infielder Katie Connors (Laflin, Pa./Pittston Area). Junior infielder/pitcher Kim Rubino (Parsippany, N.J./Parsippany) then delivered a single to right centerfield to load the bases.

Junior infielder Taylor Crawford (Matamoras, Pa./Delaware Valley HS) then fought her way to a full count before drawing a walk to score Holota. Crawford barely got a piece of a two-strike pitch during that at bat that the Juniata bench argued was actually a swing-and-a-miss. The umpiring crew convened and stayed with the original call of a foul tip to prolong the Crusaders' season.

Sophomore infielder Kate Reese (Wellsboro, Pa./Wellsboro Area) then stepped up and singled to right field to score Connors and tie the game. Rubino tried to score the winning run on that play as well but was gunned down at home plate.

The Eagles went down relatively quietly in the top of the eighth, setting the stage for more dramatics in the bottom of that frame.

Senior outfielder Deanna Anderson (Coal Twp., Pa./Shamokin Area) started things off with a one-out single to the shortstop in that inning, followed by a pivotal fielding error by the Juniata second basemen on a ground ball hit by Finizio.

The error put runners on first and second, and one out later, Holota singled through the left side of the infield to plate Anderson for the walk-off win.

Freshman Sarah Hoffman (Laceyville, Pa./Wyalusing Valley) earned the pitching win to improve to 12-5 this year. Hoffman threw the final 3 2/3 innings, allowing the three-run homer as one of six hits. She struck out two batters.

Hoffman relieved junior Cara Swerdlow (Bloomfield, N.J./Bloomfield), who pitched the first 4 1/3 innings and yielded two runs on five hits and three walks while striking out a game-high five batters. Swerdlow was making her 24th pitching start this year, which ties her own SU single-season record set last year.

Balfour finished the Juniata game batting 3-for-5 with a triple and her school-record 11th career homerun. Laurie Blaszka '09 hit 10 HR from 2007 to 2009.

Landis batted 2-for-3 against the Eagles, and Rubino went 2-for-4 with a run batted in. Holota went 2-for-5. Crawford was 1-for-2 and was hit by a pitch, and Anderson and Reese were both 1-for-4. Finizio was 1-for-5.

SU's freshman infielder Larissa Luu (Montandon, Pa./Milton) stole a base and scored during a pinch-running situation in the sixth inning.

Susquehanna's game against Moravian on May 8 was a different animal, though the Crusaders once again used a team effort to earn the win.

Swerdlow got the victory this time to improve to 18-5 this year. She relieved Hoffman, who was making her first start of these playoffs.

Hoffman pitched the first three innings against the Greyhounds and was touched for two runs on three hits and two walks. She struck out one batter before Swerdlow pitched the next 3 1/3 innings and allowed one run on three hits and five walks while notching a game-high five Ks.

Seldom-used junior outfielder/pitcher Bryn Whitmire (Lederach, Pa./Souderton Area) then finished the game with the tying run at the plate to earn her second save this season. Whitmire got a pop and a fly out in her two at bats against.

The two saves this year tie her with Hoffman and two former Crusaders for first place in the team's single-season record book. Whitmire's three career saves tie Tammi Beers '97 Franklin for second-most in school history behind the four saves by Kristen Hogan '01. Beers-Franklin played at SU from 1994 to 1997, and Hogan played from 1998 to 2001.

SU jumped out to a 1-0 lead over Moravian after the top of the first inning and a 5-0 lead after the top of the third. The Greyhounds scored once in the bottom of the third, but SU answered right back with its final run in the top of the fourth. A two-spot by Moravian in the bottom of the fourth went as the game's final tallies.

Finizio went 3-for-4 against Moravian and scored a game-high three runs. She now has exactly 100 career hits (including a school-record 55 this year) to become the first sophomore in program history to reach that milestone.

Holota batted 2-for-3 against Moravian with a walk, a run and an RBI. Crawford and Reese were each 1-for-3. Crawford doubled, walked and drove in two runs, and Reese had one RBI.

Landis went 0-for-4 but scored one run and drove in another.

Next Game: Sunday, May 9, at Moravian (Landmark Conference championship game), 12 p.m.

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