Boston, Mass. - A grand slam by Albertus Magnus' Brianna Whitfield (West Islip, N.Y.) in the fifth kept the game going, cutting Emmanuel's lead in half, but the fifth-seeded Falcons could not catch up to the seventh-seeded Saints, who avoided elimination with a 9-5 victory in the GNAC Tournament outing Saturday afternoon at East Boston Memorial Park.
FINAL SCORE: Emmanuel (Mass.) 9 | Albertus Magnus 5
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (23-17) | Emmanuel (Mass.) (24-17)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Olivia Burgos wasted no time to put Emmanuel on the scoreboard as the Saints lead-off hitter sent a solo over the centerfield fence to open the game.
An inning later a two-run RBI double by Casey Sheehan started a four-run stanza as two unearned runs came across to stretch the Saints lead to five, 5-0. The scoring frenzy continued in the home half of the fifth with Emmanuel crossing home three more times to turn its advantage into 8-0.
For the first time in the outing, Albertus Magnus stopped the Saints thanks to back-to-back forced plays at the plate with the bases loaded. The Falcons looked to erase the eight-run rule and did so in grand slam fashion. After the Saints made the forced play at the play with the bags juiced, Whitfield went yard to clear the bases and cut the margin in half, 8-4. Emmanuel kept Albertus Magnus there, however, to remain in front by four.
The Falcons comeback continued in the top of the sixth as Laura Anderson (East Haven, Conn.) led off the frame with a solo shot to left center.
Emmanuel kept them there the remainder of the way and took advantage of an error by the Falcons to regain a 9-5 cushion in the bottom of the sixth.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
On the Mound:
- Albertus Magnus - Laura Anderson (L, 9-5): 2.0 IP | 2 H | 5 R | 1 ER | 3 BB | 1 HR
- Albertus Magnus - Fallon Speers: 1.0 IP | 3 H | 3 R | 1 BB
- Albertus Magnus - Megan Ferraro: 3.0 IP | 3 H | 1 R | 2 BB
- Emmanuel (Mass.) - Megan Kiselback (W, 10-8): 7.0 IP | 7 H | 5 R | 5 ER | 4 BB | 5 SO | 2 HR
At the Plate:
- The Saints were led by Burgos and Sheehan as Burgos homered, while Sheehan rocked a double.
- Burgos also knocked a pair of hits with two RBI and two runs, while Sheehan contributed three RBI on two hits to go with one run scored.
- For the Falcons, Whitfield anchored the offense with a two-hit, four-RBI, one-run outing, which featured a grand slam.
- Junior Kristen Cunning (Hoboken, N.J.) recorded a pair of hits and one run as well.
- Emmanuel held an 8-7 edge in hits over Albertus Magnus.