Marian qualifies for NAC Tournament with sweep of Alverno
5/2/2010
(Milwaukee, WI) - Marian University swept Alverno College on Sunday and earned a 2010 Northern Athletics Conference Tournament berth in the process. The Sabres scored eight runs in the tenth inning to win game one 11-3 in ten innings. They then held on for a 13-9 victory in game two. The Sabres finished 20-19 overall and 12-12 in the NAC.
The Sabres scored twice in the first inning in game one as Jenna Whitehead (Kimberly, WI) drove in a pair of runs with a single. The Inferno answered in the bottom half of the inning with a pair of runs.
Trailing 3-2 in the sixth, Marian tied it up on a Kristyn Schmidt (Rosendale, WI) sacrifice-fly RBI. The game stayed that way until Marian blew it open in the tenth inning. The Sabres had six hits in the inning and two home runs, as Maria Archie (Madison, WI) and Ashley Engler (Waterford, WI) both homered.
Cherise Waltz (South Byron, WI) picked up the complete-game victory to move to 9-8 on the year. She struck out four and gave up just one earned run.
Archie, Engler, and Brooke Haen (Oakfield, WI) all had three hits for Marian. Whitehead and Emily Wiesman (Sheboygan, WI) each added a pair of hits. Archie drove in three runs.
In game two, the Sabres held an 8-1 lead heading into the bottom of the fourth, but then ran into trouble. The Inferno scored seven times to tie the game.
Marian responded in the sixth inning with four runs to gain control of the contest.
The Sabres out-hit the Inferno 13-9 and took advantage of six Alverno errors.
Amy Malcore (Luxemburg, WI) led the offense with three hits. Archie, Engler, and Emilie Jansen (Kaukauna, WI) all had two hits for the Sabres. Whitehead drove in a three with a three-run home run in the first.
Jamie Whitehead (Kimberly, WI) pitched 4.1 innings to earn the victory. She is now 6-8 on the year. Waltz earned the save as she held the Inferno hitless in two innings.
Marian will be the #6-seed in the 2010 NAC Tournament held at Alverno College. They will open the tournament on Thursday against #3-seed Dominican University at 5:00 PM. The Sabres split a pair of games at Dominican on April 18.