Lakers Win Extra-Innings Thrillers To Finish Spring Break Trip

MELBOURNE, Fla. – Roosevelt needed extra innings in both games Thursday to finish off its spring break trip to Florida in style with a pair of victories.

The Lakers (8-6) used some two-out heroics to force extra innings in the morning before walking off Culver-Stockton 5-4 in eight innings. In the afternoon, Cornerstone and Roosevelt were locked in a pitcher's duel before the Lakers broke through with a pair in the top of the eighth to claim the 2-0 win. Roosevelt won its final four games on the spring break trip to end the week in Florida 6-2 over the five days of competition.

Culver-Stockton jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning courtesy of some defensive struggles from the Lakers. Roosevelt twice failed to get the lead runner out on a sacrifice play before an error allowed two runs to score with two outs in the inning. The Lakers responded with an RBI double from Bailee Reynolds in the bottom half of the inning, but the two teams then went scoreless until the sixth frame.

A wild pitch helped the Wildcats extend their lead to 4-1 in the top half of the sixth before the Lakers finally strung some hits together off the Culver-Stockton pitcher. Scout Kram led off the bottom of the sixth with a single then Emily Zuniga hit an inside-the-park homer into the right-field corner to cut the deficit to a single run.

Kirstin Fudge opened the seventh with a single before Isabella Walton was hit by a pitch to put two runners on with no outs. Zuniga pushed Fudge to third on a fielder's choice, beating out the double play opportunity after Walton was out at second base. Anaisa Lozada, who had a walk-off hit earlier in the week, came up clutch again with two outs and lined a single to right field to tie the game.

After Kate Sisson pitched a perfect eighth inning with the courtesy runner on second base, the Lakers nearly squandered their own opportunity. However, Madison Sullivan clubbed a pinch-hit double to score Athena Pomele-Pen and walk-off the Wildcats. Brynn Dvoracek also had two hits in the win and scored on Reynolds' second-inning double.

Sisson and Samantha Norman combined to throw a two-hit shutout against Cornerstone, rarely facing any trouble from the Golden Eagles. The Lakers stranded on a second-inning double on second base then navigated around a two-out single in the sixth. Norman set down the Golden Eagles in order in the eighth inning with three of her five strikeouts to seal the victory.

Prior to extra innings, Roosevelt had a chance to score in the fourth inning after Zuniga and Lozada opened the frame with consecutive singles. However, the Lakers could not advance either runner then again stranded Zuniga on second in the sixth inning after she doubled. Reynolds smoked a double into  left field in the seventh inning, then advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt, but was left there on a strikeout.

Norman was the courtesy runner to start the eighth inning and she quickly moved up to third on Kram's bunt. That set the table for Zuniga to drive in the game's first run on a double into left field. Zuniga then stole third before Lozada brought her home with a single. Zuniga finished the game 3 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored while her teammates batted 4 for 25 in the game.

Roosevelt now rests until March 25 when it travels to Olivet Nazarene to begin Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference action in Bourbonnais.