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CAPE CORAL, Fla. -- Fredonia State opened its 2011 season with a pair of wins Thursday in the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic.
The Blue Devils rallied from behind in both games, 8-4 over Clark University, and 2-1 over Eastern Nazarene, in a rain-plagued morning and afternoon at the Cape Coral Sports Complex
In the morning game, the Blue Devils spotted Clark to a 2-0 lead after one inning before the game was halted. Both teams returned to their hotels to wait out the storm. Play resumed at 1:30 p.m., and Clark -- on its final day in Florida -- pushed its lead out to 4-0 in the third.
The Fredonia State comeback began in the last of the fourth inning with a single by Tina Schwartzmeyer and a two-run homer by Hannah Vesneske into a stiff breeze blowing in from center field.
The Blue Devils took command with six runs in the sixth aided by three Clark errors. First Schwartzmeyer reached on an error. Brittany Lis followed with a single. Clark failed to record an out on an infield grounder when the throw was dropped at third. A force out on an infield grounder left the bases loaded with one out. Julie Arnold followed with a run-scoring single, her first collegiate RBI and her second hit. Pinch-hitter Jamie Atkins then walked to force in a run and knot the score at 4-4.
Rachel Burrows delivered the game-winning hit, a bloop two-run double to right. Katie Bartkowiak added an two-run single to complete the scoring.
Raela Wiley was the winning pitcher. The third of three pitchers used by the Blue Devils, Wiley pitched two scoreless innings. She allowed one hit and struck out four..
In the second game of the day, all Fredonia State's scoring came on one swing of the bat. Down 1-0 in the fifth, Bartkowiak lined a two-run homer down the line in left. Again, Atkins walked as a pinch-hitter to put a runner on base ahead of Bartkowiak's hit.
Ashley LaPorta pitched the first four innings to earn the victory, and Alyssa Brognano pitched two scoreless innings to pick up the save. LaPorta yielded the only the only Eastern Nazarene run, a third-inning homer. Kelly Bourque pitched one scoreless inning before Brognano faced the minimum six batters over the last two innings.
The Blue Devils have two more games Friday at Cape Coral -- vs. Olivet at 11 a.m. and vs. Drew at 1 p.m.
