Rhody softball falls to Bonnies in doubleheader home opener

03/31/09 -The University of Rhode Island softball team lost its doubleheader home opener to St. Bonaventure University in the rain on Sunday afternoon, 4-2 and 5-2. Coming off a doubleheader loss to Boston University on Friday and a 3-2 extra inning win at Bryant University, the Rams were looking to claim consecutive victories.

Rhody started off strong in game one, taking the lead in the third inning. Freshman Courtney Prendergasst hit an inside the park homerun that scored freshman Brittany Julich, who had singled earlier in the inning, making the score 2-0.

The Bonnies got on the board in the fifth inning on an error, one of three Rhody errors in the game. They added three more runs against Rhody in the sixth on two RBI singles and a sacrifice fly to take a 4-2 lead. St. Bonaventure's starting pitcher, Sherri Thompson, retired the next six URI batters to secure the 4-2 victory.

Taking the loss for the Rams was freshman Alison Hartzell who went seven innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits. Head coach Erin Layton talked about losing the lead late in game one.

"A combination of things happened. We talked about adjusting to their speed and their approach at the plate. Anytime you open up the door on a walk or an error, those mistakes usually comeback to haunt you at this level."

In game two, St. Bonaventure blew the game wide open in the first inning as the team scored five runs off freshman starting pitcher Jayshree Narendran. Three of those runs came on a bases-clearing double by Amanda Kotz.

"She's a first year pitcher for us and the weather conditions were not favorable," Layton said. "We thought the lefty-lefty match up would be a good match up for us and that's why we started Jay. Ultimately it was the right thing to do in theory. We just need to talk to her a little bit more about game preparation and dealing with the weather."

Sophomore Stacey Stanovich relieved Narendran with two outs in the first and held the Bonnies scoreless the rest of the way striking out six.

"She's doing the job for us," Layton said. "Stacey has a year of experience under her belt and we expect her to be a key contributor throughout the course of the season."

The Rams cut the lead to three in the fourth inning on an RBI single by Julich scoring freshman Tekesha Rhodes and an RBI double by senior Rachel Rosenwasser that scored Julich. That was as close as Rhody would get and the Bonnies took the 5-2 victory.

"Today was a tough day because of the weather and the time it takes us to get ready," Layton said. "The team had study hours this morning, so it's a little bit different preparation for us. It was a short warm-up for us. We could have competed better with St. Bonaventure. The team has to be able to adjust to the weather, an official or another team."

The Rams (7-18 and 1-3 Atlantic 10) return to action on Tuesday afternoon as they head to in-state rival, Brown University, for a doubleheader.