Feb. 7, 2008
Box Score
St. George, UT - LMU got its 2008 campaign off to a winning, albeit elongated, start with a 3-2, 12-inning victory over Southern Utah (0-2) on Thursday in the Red Desert Classic in St. George, UT. Freshman Amy Charpentier drove in the winning run with one out in the bottom of the 12th to end what tied for the longest game in program history.
Looking to start the new season on a winning note, the Lions got behind 21-game winner Tiffany Pagano, who tossed a one-hitter through the first five innings. The senior got support from her teammates with single runs in the fourth and fifth. Junior Chelsie Tysdal got the ball rolling in the fourth with a one-out double and came home two batters later on freshman Priscilla Satete's first career hit, an RBI single.
The Lions had the chance to break things open in the fifth after sophomore J.J. Hartung reached on an error to lead off the inning and advanced to second on a wild pitch. After a sacrifice bunt moved her to third, junior Kirsten Slouber doubled her in to make it 2-0. Slouber would move to third on the inning's second wild pitch but Katie Kearns and Christina Brooks bore down to record the final two outs.
Those would prove to be important outs as the Thunderbirds finally got to Pagano the very next inning, tying the score without the ball leaving the infield. A leadoff walk, bunt single, and sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third for Lindi Kennedy, who singled to shortstop to bring home both runners and tie the game.
Despite putting the winning run on second with no outs in the bottom of the seventh, the Lions were unable to end the game as it went into extra innings. Pagano was giving the Thunderbirds nothing, scattering five hits in nine innings before giving way to sophomore Melissa Dykema in the 10th. That inning, the Lions had another chance to bring the game to an end, putting runners on second and third with no outs but Brooks got the next three batters in order to strand the winning run.
The breakthrough would finally come in the 12th when junior MiaSarah Cesena singled to short to leadoff, advancing to second on a passed ball and third on a wild pitch. After Slouber grounded out to third, freshman Amy Charpentier singled home Cesena with her first career hit.
Dykema (1-0) picked up the win, tossing three innings of one-hit ball and striking out five. Pagano recorded 12 strikeouts, one shy of her career-high, and walked five.
Cesena finished 3-for-4 with a run scored and Slouber went 2-for-6 with an RBI for the Lions, who banged out nine hits to six for Southern Utah.
After a long day Thursday that began with a 5 a.m. report and bus ride to St. George before the 3-hour, 42-minute game, the Lions play a pair of games on Friday, facingin Rhode Island at 11 a.m. and Utah Valley State at 4 p.m.
