Softball Falls to Creighton, Valpo At Rebel Games

CREIGHTON BOX  I  VALPO BOX

KISSIMMEE, Fla. – On the second day competing at the Rebel Games, the University at Albany softball team fell to Creighton, 11-0 in five innings, and to Valparaiso, 9-2.  The Great Danes are now 6-7 on the season.

In game one, Creighton used 10 hits and three home runs to total the team's 11 runs. The Bluejays took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first on Blake Ringle's three-run shot over the right-centerfield wall.

In the second, the Jays added four runs on an RBI double and groundout before Liz Dike knocked a two-run home run over the left-centerfield fence, giving Creighton a 7-0 lead.

Holding the Great Danes off the board, Creighton added an unearned run in the third on Michelle Trulin's RBI single to third for an 8-0 advantage.

In the fourth, the Bluejays put the game out of reach on Jen Daro's three-run blast, giving Creighton an 11-0 lead.

Sydnee Eck (4-1) earned the win for Creighton, allowing two hits and no runs in the five-inning contest.

For UAlbany, Caitlin Cooper (0-2) took the loss, allowing seven runs (six earned) and six hits in 1.2 frames. In relief, Nicole Parks threw the final 2.1 innings.

At the plate, senior Vicky McFarland (2-for-2) knocked both hits for the Danes.

Against Valparaiso in the nightcap, UAlbany took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, as McFarland led off with a single through the right side and Marlin Solano followed with an RBI single, finding the same hole.

However, the Crusaders answered with three runs in the third on Kaitlyn Ranieri's three-run double, taking the lead for good.

The Great Danes cut the margin to one, 3-2, in the third, as Kayla Bailey and Alexa Toole strung together a pair of singles. With one out, Elizabeth Snow and Maggie Cocks lined back-to-back singles up the middle, but the Crusaders ended the side on centerfielder Taylor Lawson's throw to the plate.

Valparaiso added a pair of runs in the fifth on Tarah McShane's two-run home run, and four runs in the seventh, stringing together four singles and two walks.

While the Great Danes outhit Valpo, 10-8, UAlbany left seven runners stranded on base. Bailey (2-for-3) and junior Lyndsey Haskell (2-for-3) led the team with two hits apiece.

In the circle, freshman Devin Durando (3-1) took the loss, allowing nine runs and eight hits, while striking out five in seven innings of work.

Ashlyn Montgomery (2-2) earned the win for Valpo, allowing two runs and 10 hits, while striking out four.

Up next, the Great Danes will have a rematch with Valparaiso at 10 a.m. on Saturday, followed by a meeting with South Dakota at 2:30 p.m.