Coming off a dominant doubleheader sweep over Holy Names on Wednesday, the Eagles took the field again on Friday, playing two against Notre Dame de Namur University.
GAME ONE: The Eagles got on the board early in game one, jumping out to a quick lead and never looking back. In the bottom of the 2
nd inning,
Kailey Palazzolo smacked a single to left field.
Amanda Gjertsen followed up Palazzolo's hit with a single of her own. After both runners moved up on a sacrifice bunt by
Michelle Lieng,
Mackenzie Graham drove a ball to right field, falling over the head of the right fielder. Palazzolo and Gjertsen easily scored. Graham went in to third standing. Two batters later,
McKinsey Thorpe brought her in on a single to make the score 3-0 after two.
The Argonauts were then shut down in the 3
rd, as
Grayson Harvey continued her dominant stretch of late. Harvey carried a no hitter into the 5
th inning, giving up just a bloop hit that landed over the head of
Sarah Kretschmar at short, just in front of a charging
Brooke Jackson in left. It was the only hit Harvey gave up on the day.
The Eagles' offense continued to hit throughout the rest of the game, bringing home one run in the 3
rd, 4
th, and 6
th. Palazzolo scored her second run of the day and Gjertson collected her third RBI in the 3
rd inning on a long double to center.
In the 4
th, the Eagles added one more on an Argonaut error. Two innings later, Palazzolo took an 0-1 pitch and belted a home run over the left field wall.
With the score 6-0 Eagles, Harvey shut down NDNU in the 7
th to earn her eighth win of the season and her fourth win in the last 10 days.
Eagle Eye: Harvey pitched seven shutout innings, giving up just one hit, and striking out five.
Ryann Ferguson finished two-for-four at the plate. Palazzolo finished two-for-four with two runs scored. Gjertsen finished two-for-two with a walk, RBI and run scored. Graham finished two-for-three with two RBI's and a run scored.
GAME TWO: In game two, the script was flipped. The Eagles fell behind early and then batter by batter, inning by inning, clawed back in the game.
Through two innings, the game remained scoreless. In the 3
rd, however, the Argonauts jumped out to a lead. Abriana Argaza led off the inning with a double for NDNU and she came around to score on a single by Tivoli Sisco three batters later.
In the 4
th inning, the Argonauts tacked on two more runs. After two straight singles to lead off the inning, Argaza brought them both in on a gap shot.
The score was 3-0 NDNU after four. In the top of the 5
th,
Callie Nunes came in out of the bullpen to relieve
Jordan Quinn. She got through the 5
th and then the Eagle offense awoke in the bottom half of the inning. NDNU starting pitcher Sofia Garcia carried a no hitter into the 5
th, but it wouldn't last any longer.
Kaylee Dalgarn collected the first hit of the game for the Eagles in what became a big inning. After singling to center, she advanced to second on a wild pitch. Two batters later,
Lauren Lopez walked and then Graham hit a rocket to the gap that scored both runners. Graham was then brought in herself on a Ferguson single to right to tie the score at three.
Nunes shut the Argonauts down in the top of the 6
th and the Eagle bats would continue to shine in the bottom of the inning. With one out, Gjertsen doubled to center field, Hughes pinch ran for her, Palazzolo singled, and then Hughes came around to score on a perfectly executed squeeze play. The Eagles would add one more on a bases loaded force play to run the score to 5-3.
In the top of the 7
th, Nunes forced a pop up, a fly out and another pop out to finish the comeback and earn the win for the Eagles.
Eagle Eye: Dalgarn finished two-for-two with an RBI and a run. Ferguson, Gjertsen and Palazzolo each finished one-for-three. Nunes pitched three shutout innings out of the bullpen to earn the win.
What's Next: The Eagles take on Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday on the road. Game one is at 12 PM and the second game will start approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one.
