Lady Bulldogs Blanked by Liberty 4-0 on Saturday Afternoon
April 17, 2010 | Softball
Lynchburg, Va. - Gardner-Webb was held to only two hits over seven innings on Saturday afternoon, as the Lady Bulldogs fell to the Liberty Lady Flames 4-0 in the third and final game of the Big South Conference weekend series in Lynchburg, Va.
The loss is the Lady Bulldogs fifth straight, as GWU falls to 15-28 overall and 5-9 in conference play. With the win, Liberty moves to 26-11 overall and 9-3 in the Big South.
Liberty jumped out to an early lead, scoring one run in the first on an RBI single off the bat of Amber DePasquale and then adding three runs in the bottom of the second, highlighted by a two-run single by DePasquale, putting the home team up 4-0 after two innings.
Gardner-Webb put a runner on base in the third, as freshman Jordyn Arrowood reached base on a Liberty throwing error. After Arrowood stole second with two outs, Liberty's Tiffani Smith got the next GWU hitter to go down on strikes, ending the Lady Bulldogs threat.
The Lady Bulldogs got a single in the sixth by sophomore Jane Savage and another single in the seventh off the bat of senior catcher Mandy Ward, yet could not push a run across the plate, ultimately falling to Liberty 4-0.
Gardner-Webb's Christine Murray (8-14) picked up the loss, as the senior hurler struggled with her control early, allowing four runs on two hits and five walks in 1.2 innings of work.
Liberty's Smith (16-3) earned the complete game shutout win, as she held GWU to no runs on two hits, while striking out 14 in seven innings of work.
At the plate for the Lady Bulldogs, Ward was 1-3, while Savage was 1-2 on the day.
For Liberty, DePasquale was 2-3 with three RBIs, while J'nae Jefferson was 1-3 with two runs scored and a walk.
Gardner-Webb will have a week to regroup, as the Lady Bulldogs will host the Charleston Southern Buccaneers next weekend, April 24-25, at Varsity Field in Boiling Springs, N.C. The two teams will play a double header on Saturday, April 24, starting at 1 p.m. The third and final game of the weekend series will be Senior Day, Sunday, April 25, at 1 p.m., in which Gardner-Webb will recognize its six seniors prior to the first-pitch.
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| Box Score: Liberty 4, Gardner-Webb 0 |
