TUCSON, Arizona – The Pirates held off a late charge by Edgewood to win 7-6 on Wednesday afternoon.
Southwestern got out to another hot start in the warm Arizona sun, scoring six runs in the 1st inning. Karen Ramirez led off with a walk and later scored after a trio of singles by Ashleigh Scott, Tessa Galloway, and Kayla Irvin. Stacy Rosengren followed with a sacrifice fly to left field to bring home Scott. Then Jessica Bryant hit a RBI single through the right side. Michelle Ramos followed with a single of her own to load the bases. Linsay Biggers reached base on an attempted suicide squeeze bunt, with Edgewood opting to get Irvin out at the plate. A wild pitch allowed Bryant to score and all runners to advance a base. Then Christina Crandall smacked a two RBI single to right field to give the Pirates the early 6-0 lead.
Bryant scored again in the bottom of the third after being hit by a pitch. She advanced on a Michelle Ramos fielder's choice, a wild pitch, and was brought home on a Biggers ground out to second base to make it 7-0.
Edgewood got things going for their side in the top of the 4th inning. Diesch led off with a double down the left field line. DeJongh followed with a single up the middle and advanced to second on the throw as Diesch moved up a bag. Then Schulting hit a RBI ground out with DeJongh proceeding to third. After Bahrke drew a walk, DeJongh crossed the plate on a fielder's choice by Pierce to close the gap to 7-2.
The Eagles continued their comeback in the 6th inning. They loaded the bases with a walk, a single, and a hit by pitch. Then Pierce drew four balls to walk in a run. Another run scored on a dropped fly ball by the second baseman. DeCoster followed with a two RBI single up the middle with no outs. However, the Pirates' defense retired the next three batters to preserve their 7-6 lead.
DeJongh led off the last inning with a single through the right side. It looked as if Edgewood might rally again, but the Pirates put away the next three batters to seal the 7-6 victory.
The Pirates had a balanced offensive attack with hits coming from six different hitters, and runs coming from six different base runners. Kelsey Kingston allowed three hits scattered over five innings and struck out seven batters for the win. Southwestern's record goes to 13-7 and Edgewood's to 2-12.
SU plays again on Thursday, March 14th at 10:00am against Dickinson in Tucson, Arizona.