Eagles Softball Team Drops Two to Chargers, Splits at WSU
April 3, 2005

An old face in a new place gave the Eagles fits on the opening weekend of Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference softball action.

On Saturday (April 2) in Hillsdale, MI, AU was swept in a doubleheader by the Chargers, 3-1 and 8-7. A check through the records indicated that the Eagles hadn’t lost to the Chargers since before the 1995 campaign. Saturday’s two HC wins came under the direction of first-year head coach Sunny (Litteral) Jones. When she played at Ashland, Jones was a four-time All-America and the most productive hitter in the program’s history.

Sunday (April 3) in Detroit, the Eagles gained a split at Wayne State. The Eagles dropped the lid-lifter, 3-1 before bouncing back for a 3-1 second-game victory. Ashland is 17-11, 1-3 in the conference.

In Saturday’s first game, HC’s Aimee Genter scattered nine hits in a route-going performance. The Chargers scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to break a 1-1 tie. The loss went to sophomore Jaime Williams, who gave up three runs, all earned, on seven hits. Kelli Williams, Ashley Mayle and Bree Beabout collected two hits each for the Eagles.

In the second game, AU got homers from Beabout, Nicole Placie, Angie Westenkirchner and Amanda Thomas. Beabout had four RBI. Placie was 2-for-4, she was the only AU player with more than one hit.

The game was deadlocked, 7-7 when the Chargers pushed across the decisive run in the top of the seventh inning. The Eagles hurt themselves with three errors and that seventh inning HC run was unearned. The loss went to freshman Jennifer Alderson, who pitched the seventh. She didn’t allow a hit, but walked two batters.

The win put the Chargers at 7-5-1, 2-0 in the GLIAC.

In Sunday’s first game, WSU hurler Meghan Misiak limited the Eagles to four hits. WSU grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning and AU tied the contest with a run in the fifth. The Warriors took the lead for good with two runs in the sixth. Misiak walked four and struck out six. Alderson took the loss. She went seven innings and was touched for three runs on seven hits. She walked one and struck out one. The rookie is 3-5.

Outfielder Laurie Black went 2-for-2 for the Eagles in the second game. Jaime Williams upped her record to 11-4 by handcuffing the Warriors on four hits. Williams doled out one free pass and struck out seven. Ashland had five hits in the contest. Both teams struggled defensively – Ashland had four errors and WSU mishandled three plays.

The Eagles will be back in action on Wednesday (April 6), hosting Malone in a non-conference encounter.