CCAC News
Posted by Marc Shaner - Fri, May 2, 2008 - [ CCAC ] - Viewed 245 times

Saint Xavier University (Ill.) remained the only unbeaten team after the second day of action at the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference softball tournament. Saint Xavier defeated Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.) in the third game of the day, sending the top-seeded Tigers to the loser's bracket, where they eliminated the University of St. Francis (Ill.). St Francis was playing its third game of the day, having eliminated Robert Morris College (Ill.) and Judson University (Ill.) earlier in the day.

St. Francis-6; Robert Morris-2

St. Francis broke a 1-1 tie with a run in the third and a pair of runs in the fourth and fifth innings, then escaped a couple of Robert Morris threats, staying alive in the days opening game. Kim Malacina picked up the win, as she went five innings, allowing one earned run on five hits, striking out two, before giving way to Beth Boezeman, who went the final two innings, allowing one earned run on one hit to earn the save. Kendel Behrens led the offense for St. Francis with three hits and two runs. Brittany Arrington added two hits, while Malacina aided her cause, driving in two runs on a two-run home run in the fourth. Six different Robert Morris players had one hit each, including Shayna Rinkus' solo home run in the sixth.

St. Francis-3; Judson-2

Beth Boezeman's double in the eighth inning scored Kendel Behrens from second, giving St. Francis a 3-2 extra-inning victory. Jamie Redman gave St. Francis a 2-0 with a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth. Judson tied the game with back-to-back run-scoring hits in the top of the sixth. Behrens reached on an error, and advanced to second on a sacrifice, before Boezeman's heroics. Redman had three of St. Francis' five hits, while Boezeman had the other two. Despite the loss, Judson out-hit St. Francis 11-5, including three from Brittany Nicley. Kim Malacina went 2.1 innings in relief to earn the win.

Saint Xavier-4; Olivet Nazarene-2

A pair of fifth-inning runs proved to be the difference, as Saint Xavier rallied from a 2-0 first-inning deficit, defeating Olivet Nazarene 4-2. The victory keeps Saint Xavier unbeaten in tournament action. Olivet Nazarene scored on run scoring singles from Marisa Baker and Rachel Comoglio. Ally Kelley tied the game up in the top of the second, smacking a two-run home run. Amanda Rimkus and Lisa Gryczewski drove in the game-winning and insurance run in the fifth. In the bottom of the seventh, Jalyn Shearer escaped a bases-loaded jam without giving up a run, securing the win. Five different Saint Xavier players had one hit each, while Marisa Baker went 2 for 4 with one run and one run batted in to lead Olivet. Shearer recorded the win, allowing two unearned runs on six hits, while Olivet's Kellie Koverman allowed four earned runs on five hits, striking out four.

Olivet Nazarene-7; St. Francis-1

After St. Francis jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second inning, Olivet Nazarene answered with seven runs over the next four innings, including three runs in the fourth. Lauren Chessum limited St. Francis to three hits over seven innings. Chessum also struck out four batters and threw 105 pitches in the victory. She limited St. Francis to one hit over the game's final four innings. Marcia Grimes led the Tigers' offense with three hits, while Amy Murray and Nora Duffy had two hits each. One of Duffy's hits was a solo home run. Lynley Louzensky scored the only St. Francis run, hitting a solo home run.