DeLand, Fla. ? Six errors led to five unearned runs as the Stetson softball team (23-31) suffered a season-ending 6-2 loss to Lipscomb (39-13) in an elimination game Saturday at the Atlantic Sun Conference Championships at Patricia Wilson Field. Second team all-conference junior center fielder Amy Joyce (Lake Mary, Fla.) went one for three with an RBI, a run scored and a walk for the Hatters, who suffered their first losing season since 1999 and only their second 30-loss campaign in their 25-year history.
The Lady Bisons attacked Stetson quickly with three runs in the first, all of which were plated on a pair of infield errors (one fielding and one throwing). Stetson got one back in the bottom of the first after two leadoff walks and a groundout left runners on second and third for junior catcher Jessica Lokeinsky (Cooper City, Fla.), who punched a single into short left field to bring home Joyce.
Kellie Sirus collected a two-out RBI double in the top of the second to extend the lead to 4-1, which the Hatters cut into for the final time in the fourth. Senior left fielder Amanda Bailey (Destin, Fla.) and senior shortstop Leo Carre?o (Miami, Fla.) led off with singles which eventually led to a bases-loaded situation for Joyce. The slapping lefthander ripped a line shot into right field for an RBI single that plated Bailey.
Lipscomb pitcher Whitney Kiihnl, the A-Sun Freshman of the Year, then proceeded to live up to her honors by striking out senior first baseman Andrea Migliori (Winter Garden, Fla.) and retiring junior designated player Katie Lawrence (Hilliard, Fla.) on a soft grounder to end the inning and Stetson's last threat. Lipscomb plated two more insurance runs in the fifth with the help of two more defensive miscues to reach the final margin of 6-2.
Kiihnl blazed through the Hatters to the tune of 14 strikeouts, giving up two runs on five hits and five walks in seven innings. Junior starter Amanda Lindsey (Byhalia, Miss.) took the loss with four runs allowed (all unearned) on five hits and two walks in three innings. Senior righty Erica Demers (Miami, Fla.) put a coda on her distinguished Stetson career by pitching the last four innings and getting the last of her school record 624 career strikeouts.
Bailey, Carre?o, Demers and Migliori all played their final games in a Hatter uniform today; Joyce and Lindsey (1.74 ERA, 188 strikeouts in 2009) lead the returning cast for next season as Stetson attempts to get back to its tradition of winning.
