Finger Lakes Picks up Pair of Conference Road Wins over Jefferson
WATERTOWN, NY. – Finger Lakes picked up a sweep of Jefferson CC on Sunday on the Lady Cannoneers field. It took the opener 7-0 as starting pitcher Rachel Mertens dazzled on the mound by throwing a complete game two-hitter. In game two, the Lady Lakers would need extra innings before claiming a 6-5 victory. Tied 4-4 in the nightcap upon the conclusion of the seventh frame, Finger Lakes and Jefferson would eventually find themselves tangled in a nine-inning affair.
The Lady Lakers, in the finale, would claim a 6-4 lead in the top of the ninth after Samantha German and Andrea Davis crossed the plate. The Lady Cannoneers would score a run in the bottom portion of the ninth before falling 6-5. The wins improved Finger Lakes record to 9-16 (2-6 MSAC).
In the opener, Finger Lakes would score its seven runs on 11 hits. Leading the charge offensively for the Lady Lakers was Kelly Kier. The second baseman delivered a perfect 3 for 3 game at the dish all while registering a pair of RBIs.
Following Kier with two hits apiece were Mertens and Tamara Robertson. In addition to their hits, both Mertens and Robertson drove in two runs apiece.
Mertens pitching effort guided Finger Lakes to the shutout. Over seven innings, she struck out five while allowing just one walk on two hits.
In game two, the Lady Lakers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first. The game would go scoreless for the next three innings before any more run activity was produced. In the fifth, Jefferson knotted the meeting at 2-2. Finger Lakes would strike back with runs in the sixth and seventh to go ahead 4-2.
Down to their last at bat, the Lady Cannoneers would tally a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh to send the game into extra innings.
A scoreless eighth would lead both teams into a ninth inning of softball. In the ninth is when German and Davis would score runs to put the Lady Lakers ahead 6-4.
Mertens would then hold off Jefferson's offense in the latter part of the ninth. She would surrender an early run before being pronounced as the game-winning pitcher.
In the 6-5 win, Finger Lakes saw its 3-4-5 hitters go a combined 8 for 12 with their bats. Cleanup hitter Robertson went 3 for 4 while Kier and German produced 3 for 5 and 2 for 3 showings, respectively. Kier tacked on 3 RBI's while Robertson drove in a pair of runs.
On the mound, Elaina Evinsky tossed all nine innings for the Lady Lakers. The freshman recorded seven strikeouts while allowing just one walk on four earned runs.