May 2, 2008

Softball Pulls Second Upset in RMAC Tourney

Big Day for Gaunt, UNK Pitchers

     Kearney, Neb. – Yutan freshman Jessie Thomas pitched six solid innings and the Nebraska-Kearney softball team took advantage of four errors to beat Metro State, 6-2, Friday night in the winner's bracket of the RMAC Tournament at Arvada, Colo.

      The seventh-seeded Lopers (22-26), who beat Adams State Friday afternoon, will play fifth-seed Fort Lewis (26-23-1) Saturday at 3:00 p.m. Central in the last winner's bracket game.

      Behind RMAC Pitcher of the Year Cary Moone (14.0 IP, six hits, 20 K's), Fort Lewis beat fourth-seed Mesa State, 7-1, and top-seed Colorado School of Mines, 7-0, Friday.

      With a win over the Skyhawks, UNK would advance to the championship game (s) Sunday. A loss to FLC and UNK would play early Sunday morning in an elimination game.

      Battling it out in the loser's bracket are, ironically, the top four seeds; Mines, Adams, Metro and Mesa.

      For the second time Friday, a powerful team struggled to get its bats going against a UNK pitcher. After senior Amanda Bell went the distance in a 5-4 win over Adams, Thomas allowed just two runs over 6.1 innings against a Roadrunners team (31-17) that leads the league in homers with 75.

      Improving to 6-9 on the year, Thomas blanked Metro -- a first-year program -- until Sarah Rusch hit a solo homer in the fifth. The 'Runners then scored one run, and had two runners on base with one out, in the seventh.

      Bell came on to squelch the rally, getting back-to-back strikeouts to earn a rare save.  

      Offensively, lefty "slap" hitters Michelle Gaunt (McCook) and Alissa Larsen (Lincoln Northeast) each went 2 for 4 and combined to drive in three runs. Clean up hitter and third baseman Cassie Keck (Blair) also went 2 for 4 with Thomas helping her own cause by going 2 for 3, one run and one RBI.

      UNK used three hits and a Metro error to score two times in the second. An RBI double by Thomas brought home another unearned run in the third and then the Lopers got triples from senior Katie Pfannenstiel (Omaha) and Molly Langerak (Erie, Colo.) to add two insurance runs in the sixth.

      By going 4 for 8 today, Gaunt moves into 10^th place on the Lopers all-time hit list (177), surpassing Brandy Brodersen. In the win over Adams, Gaunt hit a two run, inside the park home run to provide the winning margin. That was her first career homer as a Loper.

      Pictured below are Gaunt-Larsen-Thomas.