03/01/2009
Softball Drops Two in Season Opener

CLERMONT, FLA. 03/01/09 - The Clark University softball team opened its spring week 0-2 with a 10-0 five inning loss to the University of Rochester (N.Y.) and a 8-3 defeat to Capital University of Ohio on Sunday afternoon.

Senior Beth Ameno (Buffalo, N.Y.) tossed a complete-game three-hitter with nine strikeouts to pick up the win for Rochester (3-1).

The Yellowjackets scored all the runs they would need with a six-run first inning.

Junior Lauren Blake (Oakland, Maine) went two-for-three to lead Clark.

Junior Melissa Traft (Milford, Mass.) took her first loss of the season. She gave up 10 hits, walked three and struck out four in four innings of work.

Clark scored early in the second game when junior Chelsea Proulx (Franklin, N.H.) drove in freshman Maureen Coakley (Worcester, Mass.) for a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning. Capital then broke the game open with a four-run third inning that featured RBI hits from Jess Stoltz and Kaleen Keitch and later scored a run in the fourth to lead 5-1.

The Cougars answered in the fifth on Coakley's run-producing triple and a groundout RBI by Meg Lennon (Charlton, Mass.) to close the gap to within 5-3. But the Crusaders added three more runs in the sixth to account for the final score.

Clark banged out 12 hits in the game. Coakley went three-for-three with an RBI, while Blake and Darcy Kurashige-Elliott (Oakland, Calif.) collected two hits apiece.

Sophomore Sarah Carter (Worcester, Mass.) (0-1) suffered the pitching loss for the Cougars.

Clark plays Messiah College (Pa.) and Ohio Northern University on Monday.