Morgan climbs to No. 4 in career hits
Fredonia senior Alyssa Morgan (Homer/Homer) moved up another spot on the Blue Devil career hits list during Sunday's SUNYAC softball doubleheader with Plattsburgh.
Morgan went 3 for 3 in the first game -- a 10-8 Fredonia loss -- to move past Melanie Yaskulski into fourth place on Fredonia's career hit list. Held hitless during a 9-4 loss in Game 2, Morgan ended the day with 137 hits in 360 at-bats (.381). Yaskulski collected 136 hits from 1998 to 2001.
The two losses dropped Fredonia to 7-19 overall and 3-9 in the SUNYAC.
Since the season began, Morgan has moved up six spots in the career rankings. She'll enter the final week of the regular season -- beginning with a SUNYAC doubleheader 1 p.m. Monday vs. Potsdam at Blue Devil Field -- trailing Katie Bartkowiak (175 hits; 2010-13), Heather Mercer (169; 2001-04), and Jen Grabowski (147; 2002-05).
Also in Game 1 Sunday, sophomore Nikki Lent (Yaphank/Longwood) had three hits, and senior Madeline Medina (Hamburg/Hamburg) and junior Khee Nance (Dunkirk/Dunkirk) two hits each. Nance also stole three bases. One of Medina's hits was a three-run homer which cut the Blue Devil deficit to 10-7 in the fourth inning. It was Medina's first collegiate homer.
Sophomore right-hander Megan DeGroat (New Windsor, N.Y./Cornwall) pitched well in relief. She allowed one unearned run on one hit in 4 2/3 innings. Freshman right-hander Emily Shellenberger (Philadelphia, Pa./Little Flower Catholic) took the loss.
Freshman right-hander Erika Whitney (Harpursville/Harpursville) turned in a solid performance in Game 2. Locked in a 3-2 game with Plattsburgh's Katie Pitkin, Whitney got the first two outs of the sixth inning before issuing a walk to end a string of 11 of 12 batters retired. A Fredonia error and two hits led to two Plattsburgh runs for a 5-2 lead.
The Blue Devils bounced back in the bottom of the sixth with two runs to cut the deficit to 5-4. Pinch-hitter Megan Medina (Hamburg/Hamburg) singled down the line in left and Nance was hit by a pitch. A pinch-hit double by senior Lindsey Forness (Allegany, N.Y./Allegany-Limestone) scored one run and a single by sophomore Katelyn Dennis (Webster/Webster Schroeder) scored the second run.
The Cardinals (22-12, 10-4) put the game out of reach with four runs in the top of the seventh, although the Blue Devils still managed to put a runner on in the last of the seventh -- giving them at least one runner in every inning of the doubleheader. They left 21 runners stranded in the two games compared to 11 left on by Plattsburgh.
The Blue Devils wore special pink jerseys on what was billed Strike-Out Cancer Day. Proceeds will benefit the Northern Chautauqua County Relay for Life.
