NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Morehead State's softball team fell 10-0 to Fordham in its season opener Saturday but rebounded to defeat Longwood 7-5. The games were played at Christopher Newport University as part of the Longwood Tournament.
Inclement weather and poor field conditions in Farmville, Va., forced the re-location of the tournament a little further east where Captains Field at CNU was available.
In the Longwood win, senior
Ashley Archer - who missed the majority of the 2009 season - provided the key moment as she crushed a behemoth pinch hit three-run home run to left field in the fifth inning that erased a 4-3 lead for the Lancers.
Senior pitcher
Sarah Funston started in the circle for the Eagles and tossed the first four frames. Senior All-American hurler
Alex Gjevre picked up the win in relief, shutting down the Lancers for the final three innings.
Sophomore Kayla Brill was 2-for-4 with two RBI for MSU.
"I think that Sarah threw decent against Longwood, and Alex really came in and shut them down. We saw three of their pitchers so I think we have stuff we can definitely work on. But, it was just a relief to be able to finally play a game," said third-year MSU head coach Holly Bruder after six games have already been cancelled this Spring.
The first game was not as pleasant for the Eagles as Fordham's Jen Mineau tossed a perfect game against the Eagles with a school record 18 strikeouts. The Rams also amassed seven runs and nine hits off Gjevre. Gjevre allowed seven runs in six innings but did strike out seven as well. Sophomore Ashley Boyd pitched the final inning and gave up three runs.
MSU will face Fordham and Longwood again on Sunday before returning home. The game against Fordham will begin at 9 a.m., followed by the Longwood contest.
