TAMPA, Fla.- After falling to Florida International in the first round of the USF Speed Line Invitational, the Phoenix softball team dropped two games and earned two victories to finish the tournament with a 2-3 record. Elon fell to Canisius 6-4, downed Maine 2-0 and Buffalo 5-4 before falling 4-2 to Towson.
Canisius got on the board early when a double by Katie Miranto plated Brittany Bonetto and a single by Jess Martin score Miranto to put Canisius ahead 2-0 at the end of the first inning. Cameron Norton led off the bottom of the second with a triple before Angela Turrey hit her in for a 3-0 advantage.
Elon responded in the top of the third inning. Patti Weber reached base on an error and after advance on a single by Nicole Ellis, Weber scored on a passed ball to cut the lead to two at 3-1.
Canisius added two more runs inthe bottom of the inning on RBI singles from Martin and Norton. In the bottom of the fourth, Canisius added another run on a Miranto RBI single.
In the top of the fifth, Weber scored on a bround out by Paige Goss to cut the lead to four at 6-2. Elon added two more runs in the top of the seventh. With runners on second and third, Goss singled to score Weber before an RBI single from Rebecca Rijavec score Ellis to cut the lead to two at 6-4, but Canisius ended the Elon threat and took the win.
Juliette Bowers (2-0) picked up the win after throwing six innings and giving up two runs on two hits and striking out seven. Whitney Meeks (6-1) suffered the loss for Elon after tossing six innings and giving up six runs on eight hits and retiring five batters.
Miranto led Canisius from the plate, going three-for-four with two runs and two RBI while Martin was a perfect three-for-three with two RBI and one run. Jaimie Rao and Ellis each recorded two hits for Elon while Goss posted two RBI.
Against Maine, Elon's two runs in the top of the first inning were enough to earn the victory. Goss led off the game with a single before a triple by Debbie Zeigler sent her home for the 1-0 lead. Laurin Smith followed with a double to plate Zeigler and take the 2-0 lead.
Samantha Schroeder (4-2) picked up the win for Elon after tossing a complete game and giving up no runs on four hits and striking out two. Jenna Balent suffered the loss for Maine after throwing seven innings and giving up two runs on five hits and striking out four batters.
Elon got on the board first against the Bulls of Buffalo. In the bottom of the third inning, Ellis walked and advanced tow second on a ground out by Goss before Zeigler doubled to score Ellis and put Elon ahead 1-0.
Buffalo took the lead after a two-run fifth inning. With runners on second and third, Sophie Barstad singled to score both runners and take the lead 2-1. Buffalo added another run in the top of the sixth when an RBI single by Mary Russell scored Kerry Cafazzo to give the Bulls a 3-1 lead. A solo home run in the top of the seventh inning, gave the Bulls a 4-1 lead.
Weber led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a walk before a single by Goss put runners on first and second. Rijavec knocked a singled to score Weber and cut the lead to two at 4-2. With runners on first and second Smith blasted a walk-off homer to give the Phoenix a 5-4 victory.
Meeks (7-1) picked up the win for Elon after tossing one inning and giving up one run on two hits. Starter Carol Lilley threw six inning for Elon, giving up three runs (two earned) on four hits and striking out six batters. Jennifer Biernacki suffered the loss for Buffalo after tossing six and two-third innings and giving up five runs on seven hits while retiring two batters.
Goss led Elon from the plate with two hits on four at-bats while Smith led the team with three RBI. Barstad and Laura Kor each recorded two hits for the Bulls while Barstad posted three RBI.
Against Towson, the Tigers started the scoring in the top of the first inning when a single by Aimee Rosa scored Christine Navarro. The Tigers added two runs in the top of the third inning when Emily Gould singled and advanced on an error by the left fiedler to score Rosa and Navarro and go ahead 3-0.
Elon responded with a run in the bottom of the third when an RBI single by Rijavec scoreed Weber to cut the lead to two at 3-1.
Towson added another run in the top of the fifth inning. Gould singled to plate Navarro and give the Tigers a 4-1 advantage.
In the bottom of the sixth, a double by Brandi Jones scored Brittney Waters to cut the lead to two at 4-2.
Samantha Schroeder (4-3) suffered the loss for Elon after hurling a complete game and giving up four runs on nine hits while striking out two batters. Jillian Kiley (4-5) picked up the win for the Tigers after tossing seven innigns and giving up two runs on six hits and retiring seven batters.
Rijavec, Rao, Waters, Weber, Jones and Ellis all recorded hits for the Phoenix. Rosa led the Tigers from the plate, going three-for-four with one run and one RBI while Gould was two-for-three with three RBI.
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