DeLand, Fla. ? Ahead 3-0 heading into the seventh and final inning Wednesday evening at Patricia Wilson Field, the Stetson softball team (7-7) liked its chances to snap a three-game losing streak, but visiting Centenary (10-3) struck for three runs in the top of the seventh to tie it and three more in the eighth to pull out a 6-3 victory over the Hatters. All six runs scored on home runs, two of them by right fielder Lindsey Smith. Stetson has now lost four consecutive games for the first time since late in the 2004 season.
The Hatters scored two runs in the bottom of the second on a bases loaded RBI single by junior third baseman Megan Voeller (Jensen Beach, Fla.) and a following RBI sacrifice fly off the bat of senior left fielder Amanda Bailey (Destin, Fla.). A third run scored as the result of a Centenary error in the bottom of the sixth to make it 3-0 Stetson.
Senior pitcher Erica Demers (Miami, Fla.) was cruising along at that point, having given up just two hits with five strikeouts and three outs away from what would have been her fourth shutout of the season. Smith led off the top of the seventh with a drive over the center field wall, the first home run off Demers this season, to make it 3-1. Following a walk to pinch hitter Kalyn Harris, first baseman Allison McClain tied the game on an opposite field shot to right field.
Although Stetson would escape further damage, it left runners on the corners in the bottom of the seventh against Centenary relief pitcher Hillary Phillips. That would prove to be a fatal mistake as a Caitlin Cavarra double and a Haley Bassett single put two runners on with one out in the top of the eighth and Smith up at the plate again. She took a 3-1 pitch from Demers and crushed it far over the scoreboard in left center field to put the Ladies up 6-3. Phillips shut down the Hatters in the bottom of the inning to seal it.
Smith went three for four with two home runs, a double and four RBI; the freshman Centenary slugger is now batting .462 on the season with six home runs and 16 RBI in just 13 games. The Hatters only managed four hits off Phillips and starter Jessica Bock. Demers struck out eight batters.
Stetson tries to get back in the win column Friday when it hosts the Hatter Classic at Patricia Wilson Field. The Ladies are in the field along with Kentucky (4-3) and Maryland (3-8). The Hatters begin the tournament by facing Kentucky at 4 p.m. Friday and then take on Maryland immediately afterwards, tentatively scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Live Stats and Jamie Bataille's Hatter Vision webcast are available as usual at www.GoHatters.com, the official online home of Stetson Athletics.
