CLERMONT, Fla. – The second day of the Dot Richardson Tournament and the 2017 season saw Fairleigh Dickinson play both Liberty and Morgan State for a second straight day and the Knights fell in both contests on Saturday.
The Knights have one remaining game this weekend, which will be Sunday morning at 10 a.m. against UT Chattanooga.
Game 1 – Liberty 13 (4-0), Fairleigh Dickinson 2 (0-3) F/5
The Flames and Knights played the first two innings scoreless. It was then in the third inning when Fairleigh Dickinson got on the board first.
Cheryl Lopez singled to center to lead off the frame and then stole second base. Two batters later
Serena Meehan drove in Lopez with a single up the middle.
Liberty responded to the Knights' single tally with an 11-run bottom of the third. The first five hitters of the inning reached base for the Flames and would come around to score. A double and three more singles made it 9-1.
Amber Bishop capped the inning with a two-RBI double to left center.
Fairleigh Dickinson got one back in the top of the fourth inning.
Madison Emerson started things with a one-out double.
Holly Mercier then reached on an error as
Baylee Ports – pinched ran for Emerson -- moved to third.
Jaymee Jackson singled to third, which prevented Ports from scoring, but moved Mercier to second to load the bases with one away. Lopez added a RBI to her stat line with a groundout to second. After
Ana Hayes walked to load the bases,
Summer Mendoza struck out to end the threat and frame.
Once again, Liberty answered Fairleigh Dickinson's offense with its own. The Flames got two in the fourth. One came on a sacrifice fly and one came on a double steal of third and home.
Fairleigh Dickinson was unable to cut into the lead in the top of the fifth and Liberty took the run-rule win.
Game 2 – Morgan State 3 (3-1), Fairleigh Dickinson (0-4)
Morgan State scored one run in the first, fifth and seventh – all unearned – to get the shutout win in the final game of the day for both teams.
The Bears scored in the first on a RBI groundout. Korynna Lara grounded out to second, which plated Kate Vosper. Vosper reached on a single to center but moved over to third on an error.
In the Knights' first inning, Fairleigh Dickinson got three runners on but none home.
Summer Mendoza walked – would get caught stealing,
Kellie Natham also walked but would be stranded at third and
Reanna Cervantes singled and was left at first when the inning was over.
The two teams combined for only three hits over the next three innings. There in the fifth, Morgan State was able to get one across on a passed ball.
Once again neither team's offense could get anything going until the seventh. Damali Young came up in the seventh with two outs and was the beneficiary of an error in the Knights outfield that would allow Young to come all the way around to score.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Knights were able to get two runners on – Cervantes and Emerson – but they were left at first and second.
Emerson (0-1) went the distance while allowing five hits, three runs – all unearned – and striking out six. Amy Begg (1-0) was able to strand Knights on the bases in key spots to pick up the complete-game shutout.
The Knights return to action tomorrow (Sunday) morning for a 10 a.m. game versus UT-Chattanooga.
