Lakers Sweep Crimson Wave On Sisson's Historic Day

ROSEMONT, Ill. – Roosevelt was able to eke out a pair of 4-3 wins over Calumet St. Joseph on Friday at the Parkway Bank Sports Complex to clinch the No. 4 seed in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament next week.

In the first game of the day, the Lakers (21-15, 13-7 CCAC) pushed across two runs in the bottom of the seventh to escape with the victory over the Crimson Wave. There was no need for a similar comeback in the second half of the doubleheader as the Lakers scored once in the four of the first five innings to claim the sweep.

The drama at the end of the game could not overshadow the history made in the circle in the opener. Senior Kate Sisson fanned Calumet St. Joseph catcher Tiffanie Brieno in the top of the fourth inning to break the Roosevelt record for career strikeouts with her 306^th. She added five more before the game ended to finish with eight in the game, many of which came at critical moments. She struck out two in the first inning with a runner on third base to limit the damage to a single run and stranded a pair of runners in scoring position with a strikeout to end the fifth.

Roosevelt had an answer every time Calumet St. Joseph was able to dent the scoreboard, matching the Crimson Wave in the first, fifth and seventh innings. Athena Pomele-Pen delivered the RBI double in the bottom of the first to knot the game at 1, scoring Scout Kram, who led off the inning with a single. Kram stole home on a delayed double steal to tie the game in the fifth inning, converting a leadoff walk into a run.

After Calumet St. Joseph scored in the top of the seventh to claim a third one-run lead, Anaisa Lozada worked a one-out walk in the bottom half of the inning. She stole second then scored when Pomele-Pen laced a triple over the right fielder's head to tie the game. Bailee Reynolds then executed the perfect suicide squeeze play as Pomele-Pen dashed home and slid under the tag to score the winning run with Reynolds officially reaching on a fielder's choice. Pomele-Pen finished the first game 3 for 4 with a pair of RBIs while Brynn Dvoracek added two hits as well for the Lakers.

The Lakers had a few chances to pull away in the second game, but still managed to score in four of their six innings at the plate. Lozada singled to the pitcher in the bottom of the first then advanced to second when the pitcher threw away a late throw to first base. Pomele-Pen picked up where she left off in the first game and singled up the middle to plate Lozada and give Roosevelt the early 1-0 lead.

Kram led off the third inning with a walk then Lozada laid down an excellent bunt that stayed fair and put two runners on base with Kram running to third. Lozada stole second then moved up to third on a passed ball, but Kram was thrown out trying to score after the ball bounced off the backstop. Pomele-Pen earned her second RBI of the game and fourth of the day with a fly ball that the center fielder dropped, allowing Lozada to score easily and Pomele-Pen to reach second. However, the threat ended when Pomele-Pen left second early on a pop fly by Reynolds.

Kirstin Fudge began the fourth with a single then Dvoracek followed two batters later with a triple, but she was stranded there by consecutive outs. After the Crimson Wave tied the game at 3 in a crazy top of the fifth, the Lakers wasted no time reclaiming the lead in the bottom of the frame. Kram walked then moved up to second on a sacrifice bunt before advancing to third on a wild pitch. Reynolds scored her with a single to third base for the final run of the game.

Samantha Norman started the second game in the circle for Roosevelt and struck out six while only two of the three runs charged against her were earned. She had a chance to escape the fifth with less damage, but her throw on a bases-loaded fielder's choice was deemed to be a half-second late allowing the first run to score. Then a passed ball later in the inning allowed the tying run to score before she induced a lazy pop fly to end the inning with runners on second and third.

The Lakers will end the regular season Sunday with a doubleheader at Indiana Tech starting at 1 p.m. in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Roosevelt will then face fifth-seeded St. Ambrose at 3 p.m. in the opening round of the CCAC Tournament in Crown Point, Indiana at the Crown Point Sportsplex. The Lakers will face either St. Francis, the conference champion, or No. 8 Indiana University South Bend in their second game of the day around 5:30 p.m.