Game one box
Game two box
OXFORD, Pa. (March 17, 2011) — The Lincoln University softball team's bats awakened just too late Thursday afternoon against Chestnut Hill College (3-5) at the Oxford Athletic Association.
After mustering just two hits and advancing one runner to scoring position in an 11-0, five-inning loss in the first game, the Lady Lions finally began connecting in the second contest.
In the bottom of the second, sophomore pitcher Erin Rucker (Shaker Heights, Ohio/Shaker Heights HS) launched a triple to deep left field, serving as the catalyst for one of three Lincoln extra-base hits in the game. Rucker went 2-for-3 with the triple and two runs scored in the second game and finished the afternoon 3-for-5 at the dish. She was the only LU pitcher utizlied.
Despite Rucker's performance, LU (2-6) dropped game two, 18-5, in five innings.
While the losses were certainly setbacks, Rucker continued her hot start after connecting for her first-career home run last weekend. Overall, she is hitting .316 with seven runs scored. Last year, she hit .271 and had two extra-base hits, both doubles.
“I've become more of a power hitter,” she said. “My timing has improved, and I'm better at getting my hands through to the ball.”
After catcher Mariah Liberty (Waterbury, Vt./Harwood Union HS) drew a walk, Rucker came home on a sacrifice fly by senior first baseman Jasmine Baxter (Washington, D.C./McKinnley Tech HS), breaking a spell of 11 innings without a run, a span that lasted more than two full games. Liberty, too, scored after swiping second and reaching home later on an Chestnut Hill error.
LU added three more in the fourth when Baxter's gapper to right center plated Rucker, who had reached on a single, and Liberty, who had reached on a fielder's choice. Later in the frame, sophomore right fielder Shira Miller (Seattle, Wash./Roosevelt HS) drove in Baxter with her first double of the season.
Still though, the Lady Griffins had gotten out to a comfortable margin behind seven first-inning runs. They tacked on one in the third, three in the fourth and seven in the fifth to distance themselves for the sweep.
For Rucker, who took both loses, the day was bittersweet. The confidence and happiness acquired from her new-found power was tempered with a rough day in the circle. Although Chestnut Hill scored 29 runs, only 12 of them were earned. Lincoln committed 12 errors defensively. Rucker, a Shaker Heights, Ohio, native, has pitched 36 of 43 innings.
“I do what I have to in order to support my teammates,” she said.
Up Next
The Lady Lions host Virginia State University in a return to conference action on Saturday. The doubelheader begins at 1 p.m. at the Oxford Athletic Association.
— LU —
