Call 2-Hits Spirit

June 11, 2011 - LYONS, PA. - Rain made Lyons Ballfield unplayable by 9 p.m. Saturday. Fortunately, Stephanie Call made quick work of the Lyons Spirit in the Brakettes' first game of the night. Call threw a two-hit shutout, striking out four and walking one in the Brakettes' 2-0 win. The second game, against the Shockers, was rained out.

The Spirit mounted their only rally of the night in the second inning. Jean Buskirk singled with one out. Leanda Helms reached on fielder’s choice, and Ashley Waters was charged with a tough error on Danielle Kitchen’s grounder up the middle, moving Helms to second. Call retired Jen Rau on a routine grounder to Waters at second to end that threat.

The Brakettes took the lead in the third, as Carly Normandin rocketed a triple to center and scored on Waters’ RBI single. The Spirit threatened to tie it in the bottom of the inning when Karen Bauer walked with one out and Megan Greiss singled, moving Bauer to second. The next batter, Elaine Bedell, hit a grounder to deep shortstop where Mandy Fishback made the play and threw to third to force Bauer, one of several good defensive plays for Fishback. The next hitter, pitcher Liz Gall, ripped a line drive, but it was right at Waters, who caught it to end the inning.

The Spirit would never threaten again, as Call retired the Spirit’s last 14 hitters. The Brakettes got an insurance run in the seveth. Becca Carden doubled, went to third when Sarah Calgreen reached on an error and scored on a suicide squeeze bunt by Alisa Heronema.

Carden and Normandin each finished with a double and a triple, accounting for four of the Brakettes’ six hits.

Call actually extended her string of retired batters to seventeen in the first inning of the nightcap against the Shockers, striking out the first two hitters and getting a lazy fly ball, and the Brakettes had two runners on base and nobody out in the top of the second when the rain ended the night of softball.