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University of Detroit Mercy Athletics

Long Florida 2011
Mike Cerniglia
Shelby Long had her first collegiate RBI in game one Tuesday

Softball

Detroit Earns Split on Day Three in Florida With Big Comeback Win

South Dakota Box Score
Temple Box Score

KISSIMMEE, Fla. - The Titans played two contests in the sunshine state on Tuesday and started with a come-from-behind 10-9 win over South Dakota. In game two, Detroit fell 12-6 to Temple and now sit at 2-4 on the year.

In the first game against South Dakota, the Titans fell behind 6-0 after two innings and 8-2 after three. The score remained the same until the top of the seventh when the Titan offense exploded for eight runs to jump ahead 10-8. In the home half of the seventh, South Dakota added one more tally but Detroit held on for its second win on the season.

It marks the first time Detroit has won after trailing heading into the seventh inning since a May 1, 2008 road win over Michigan State. The Titans were down 5-1 heading into the final frame but Detroit plated four runs in the top of the seventh to tie the game and push it into extra innings. In the top of the 14th inning, four more Titan runs in the top of the inning and zero for Michigan State, gave UDM a 9-5 win.

Against South Dakota, the seventh inning saw nine straight Titans come to the plate. Freshman Sara Cupp (Hartland, MI/Milford) brought in the first run of the inning with a bases loaded RBI single. Junior Renee Zaccagni (Macomb, MI/Dakota) followed that with a two-run double. An RBI single from freshman Shelby Long (St. Peters, MO/Fort Zumwalt) gave Detroit its fourth run of the inning and Long her first collegiate RBI. Another freshman, Alyssa Gietl (Plymouth, MI/Ladywood) plated two more runs with a single tying the game at eight. The final Titan blast came from junior Rachel Copple's (Dearborn Heights, MI/Cabrini) bat as she continued her hot hitting with a two-run single. Copple has already had two multi-hit games this season and added a third in the second game against Temple.

In the home half of the frame, the Coyotes managed one run but the Titan defense held strong for the victory. Freshman Karyn McCarty (Allen Park, MI/Cabrini) came on to pitch in the third inning and collected her second win of the year. In five innings, she allowed four hits and punched out six Coyotes.

“I talked to the girls about being patient after we started slow today and then we started putting some runs together. We sat back and let them make a few mistakes and started making some good swings on the ball,” said head coach Sunny Jones.

In the second contest of the day, Detroit faced Temple and struggled early as the Owls took a 5-1 lead after one.

Freshman Julia Maksym (Manistee, MI/Manistee) started the game for Detroit in the circle, and sophomore Anna Bondy (Newport, MI/Carleton-Airport) came on to finish the game for the Titans and scattered eight hits over the final five frames striking out five.

Detroit started a comeback plating three runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth. In the fifth, junior Whitney Stratton (Muskegon, MI/Fruitport) led off the inning with a hit and scored on freshman Erin Huddleston's (Normal, IL/Normal West) sacrifice fly. Zaccagni followed that with a two-run single.

The sixth inning saw another Titan first as Gietl led off with a hit and McCarty brought her home with her first collegiate home run she sent over the right-center field fence.  Long continued a solid day at the plate finishing with two hits and a walk in game two after tallying her first career RBI in the first game.

Detroit will have an off day Wednesday before a pair of games on Thursday. The Titans will play Holy Cross at 1:00 p.m., followed by a match-up with Yale at 5:00 p.m. For the Yale game, live stats will be available by clicking HERE.

Information from games this week will be posted online as scores and stats become available. You can follow the Titans on Twitter by clicking here or search for Titan updates under the name DetroitTitans) as scores will be posted there first.
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