Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
The Detroit Titans softball team battled hard but dropped a Horizon League doubleheader, 7-0 and 5-4 (10 innings), to UIC Saturday afternoon at Flames Field.
Late game heroics by UIC (14-20, 6-1 HL) senior Sarah Clynes spoiled coupled with a Detroit (7-26, 3-11 HL) miscue ended the Titans bid to secure a win in the three-game series.
After falling behind 2-0 in the first inning in game two, Detroit finally broke through with four runs on three hits sending all nine batters to the plate. Sophomore Ellen Sinclair (Chatham, ON/Chatham-Kent) got Detroit on the board with a RBI double to score junior Erica Houthoofd (Unionville, MI/Unionville Sebewaing Area) and senior Jacqueline Nortman (Groves, TX/Msgr. Kelly Catholic). After a walk by junior Courtney Gill (Surrey, B.C./Earl Marriott), sophomore Kristin Sclater (Taylor, MI/Kennedy) singled to left field to bring in Sinclair. Sophomore Breana Sesoko (Anaheim Hills, CA/Canyon) then reached on an error which allowed pinch runner Melissa Barrett (Taylor, MI/Kennedy) to score giving the Titans a 4-2 lead.
UIC pulled within one run, 4-3, in the bottom of the frame on a sacrifice fly. The Flames then tied the game at 4-4 in the sixth on a RBI single by Christie Seddon to score Sarah Clynes from third base.
UIC had a golden chance to end the game in eighth inning with two outs and a runner on second base. Brooke Frydendall launched a towering shot to deep left center field where Nortman ran across and made a diving catch just before the ball was going to drop in fair to keep the game tied at 4-4.
Detroit's defense faltered in the 10th inning as Carly DeMarco reached on a throwing error and advanced to second base. Clynes then doubled to center field to end the game with a 5-4 win.
Clynes led UIC going 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. She also picked up the win in the circle on senior day pitching all 10 innings allowing four runs on four hits with seven strikeouts.
Freshman Kara Spinelli (Newman, CA/Orestimba) picked up the loss in a relief effort going three innings with one earned run.
In game one, UIC's Ashley Hewitt returned to the circle and picked up where she left off in the first game of the series with another solid outing going the distance allowing no runs on seven hits for her second consecutive shutout.
Sclater and Sesoko led UDM accounting for four of the Titan's seven hits going a perfect 2-for-2 and 2-for-3 respectively.
Defensive miscues plagued Detroit in the first inning as a miscommunication on an infield pop up and a fielding error put UIC runners in scoring position. Frydendall and Melissa Marinacci made the Titans pay with a RBI double and two-RBI single respectively to give the Flames a 3-0 lead.
UIC went up 4-0 in the second inning on a RBI double by Clynes and added another run in the third on a Shannon Kehr home run for a 5-0 advantage.
After UIC went up 7-0 on a two-run home run by Clynes in the fifth inning, Detroit mounted its best scoring opportunity against Hewitt as Houthoofd and Sinclair reached on back-two-back singles with no outs. However, Hewitt forced Gill to hit into double play to the second baseman moving Houthoofd to third base. After Sclater walked, UDM failed to get on the board as junior Jessica Liebner (Ortonville, MI/Brandon) popped out to end the inning.
The Titans travel to Mt. Pleasant, MI for a non-conference doubleheader against Central Michigan on Tuesday, April 14 at 2 p.m.
