Feb. 22, 2005

Box Score

ST. CLOUD, Minn. - The Lewis University softball team ended its season-opening weekend of play with a thrilling 10 inning victory over tournament host and No. 4 team in the nation St. Cloud State.

The Flyers beat the Huskies 7-6 on a one out single from sophomore Beth Shelus in the bottom of the 10th inning.

St. Cloud, who was hosting its first-ever Dome Tournament, suffered its first loss of the season at the hands of the Flyers.

The visiting team by virtue of a coin toss, the Huskies opened the game with a lead off home run from All-American Abby Velta. St. Cloud added another run later in the inning to stake a 2-0 lead.

Lewis answered in the second inning with three runs and claim the lead 3-2. Freshman Mallory Paine began the scoring with an RBI double. Junior Debbie Peterson then pushed the Flyers ahead with a suicide squeeze that scored a pair of runs.

In the third, St. Cloud plated another run to tie the game, but freshman Carla Musillo had an RBI single in the bottom of the inning that gave Lewis a 4-3 lead.

The Huskies tied the game in the fifth and the game remained deadlocked at 4-all as it headed into extra innings.

Using the international tiebreaker rules, each team scored one run in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively.

In the 10th, Amy Yusko was placed on second base and Kristy Vanek led off with a walk. Freshman Ashley LeGrand advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt before Musillo was intentionally walked, setting the stage for Shelus.

LeGrand started and pitched four innings before giving way to Kristen Porzel for four innings. LeGrand re-entered the game in the eighth and pitched the final two innings to record the win.

The Flyers finished the First Annual Husky Dome Tournament 3-3 and will be off until its spring break trip to Kissimmee, Fla.