Queen Bees eliminated quickly in conference tournament
by Eric Brundies (04/30/08)
MOLINE, Illinois---The St. Ambrose Queen Bees softball team
were eliminated after just two games in the 2008 Midwest Collegiate Conference
tournament held at the Green Valley Softball Complex in Moline.
Melissa Krueger got the start in the first round match-up
against Clarke College. She would allow a run in each of the first two innings
on an RBI single and an error.
SAU would not score in the first six innings, but Kruger
held Clarke to three runs despite giving up 16 hits. The last chance for the
Queen Bees came in the bottom of the seventh. They would lead off the inning
with three singles, one of which scored a run and cut the deficit to two.
After a groundout advanced the two runners to second and
third base, a strikeout would make the second out for St. Ambrose. With two
outs, Tara Miller would drive home another run with a single, making it a 3-2
ballgame and advancing the tying run to third base. It wasn’t meant to be though
as a foul-out would end SAU’s chances for a victory.
Miller and Caitlin Polzin led the team with two hits each.
Krueger pitched all seven innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on 16 hits
while striking out five.
The Queen Bees would face Iowa Wesleyan the next day. They
entered the game with a 4-0 record against them in the regular season.
Megan Marlier got the start for SAU and got off to a rough
start, allowing a total of five runs in the first two innings.
The Queen Bees would get two of those back in the bottom of
the first off doubles by Kara Glunz and Caitlin Polzin. They got two more runs
in the bottom of the third on RBI singles by Kelly Kratt and Jessica Murphy.
St. Ambrose would tie the game at 5-5 the very next inning
when Felicia Fiorito scored on a passed ball.
The tie wouldn’t last long though as Iowa Wesleyan would
score a total of seven runs in the next three innings, all but putting the game
out of reach for SAU as they were eliminated from the tournament with a 12-6
loss.
Glunz, Polzin, and Melissa Krueger each finished the game
with two hits while Murphy led the team with two RBIs.
Marlier gave up a total of 12 runs (10 earned) on 14 hits
in seven innings. She would also walk four and strikeout four.
Glunz would finish with a team-leading .377 batting average
on the season. She would also lead the team with a .632 slugging percentage and
finished second on the team with a .400 on-base percentage.
Miller was second on the team in batting average at .364,
and first in on-base percentage at .430. She also finished the season with zero
errors.
Marlier led the team in pitching with 11 wins and a 2.55
ERA. Krueger was second with nine wins and a 3.23 ERA. Together they combined
for 20 wins and over 240 innings pitched.
Despite their season ending after being eliminated from the
tournament, the Queen Bees rebounded nicely from a 2-13 start to finish the
season 20-21 overall, and 19-9 in the MCC. They had a stretch in April where
they won 15 of 16 games, and would finish a respectable fourth place in the MCC
regular season standings.
Queen Bees split weekend play against Viterbo and Grand
View
by Eric Brundies (04/27/08)
The St. Ambrose Queen Bees softball team closed out regular
season conference play with a 2-2 weekend split against Viterbo and Grand View.
They hosted Viterbo at home on Saturday afternoon and got
off to a slow start in game one, being held scoreless through the first four
innings.
Megan Marlier got the start for SAU and gave up one run in
the top of the second inning on a fielder’s choice. Marlier, however, would hold
Viterbo scoreless for the rest of the game.
The St. Ambrose offense would come to life in the bottom of
the fifth, as they scored three runs on a solo homer by Megan Tracy followed by
a two-run homer by Kara Glunz.
They would score three more times in the bottom of the
sixth on a two-run homer by Kelly Kratt followed with an RBI single by Glunz
later in the inning as they cruised to a 6-1 game one victory.
Glunz led with three hits and three RBIs as the team
totaled 11 hits in the seven inning game.
Marlier picked up her 11th win of the season
after allowing just one run on six hits in seven innings while striking out
three.
Game two started out roughly for the Queen Bees as Viterbo
scored three times in the top of the first inning, all three runs unearned as
SAU committed two errors in the inning.
St. Ambrose would make up for it on offense however,
scoring four runs in the bottom of the second inning and a season-high nine runs
in the bottom of the third. They added another run in the fourth and two more in
the fifth inning, giving them a season-high 16 runs on a season-high 17 hits.
Melissa Krueger got the start for the Queen Bees, allowing
three hits and three runs in four innings while striking out three. None of the
runs, however, were earned as SAU tied their season-high with six errors. Sarah
Porzal would pitch the top of the fifth inning and allowed four runs, but only
one of them was earned.
Glunz led the team with five RBIs. She, along with three
other players each finished the day with two hits. St. Ambrose finished with 13
different players registering at least one hit.
The Queen Bees would head to Des Moines on Sunday to face
third-place Grand View for two afternoon games.
Just one day after setting a team-high in hits and runs,
the SAU offense was very quiet, scoring just one run on three hits the entire
game. Two of those hits, along with the run, came in the seventh inning.
Melissa Krueger got the start for St. Ambrose, and allowed
seven runs (six earned) on 15 hits while striking out six. Five of the runs came
in the bottom of the fourth inning as the Queen Bees were defeated 7-1. The team
allowed 15 hits, the second most they’ve allowed all season.
Caitlin Polzin accounted for two of SAU’s three hits,
finishing the game 2 for 3 with two singles.
Game two got off to a good start for St. Ambrose as they
would score two runs in the top of the first off a double by Jessica Murphy.
Neither team scored in the next three innings as the game
remained 2-0 heading into the fifth inning. Sarah Porzal was getting just her
fourth start of the season, and shutout Grand View for the first four innings.
She would, however, give up a three-run homer to Grand View in the fifth inning,
giving them a 3-2 lead.
Grand View would add another run in the bottom of the sixth
on a sacrifice fly, giving them a 4-2 lead. SAU would not score again, and
therefore were swept for the first time since getting swept by Mount Mercy on
Apr. 5.
Porzal finished the day allowing four runs on nine hits in
six innings while walking three and striking out eight.
The Queen Bees totaled five hits in this game, giving them
just eight total hits over the two games.
They finish the regular season with a record of 20-19
overall, and 19-9 in the Midwest Collegiate Conference.
Next up will be the MCC Tournament which will be held in
Moline at the Green Valley Softball Complex. The tournament runs from Apr.
30-May 2. The Queen Bees will face Clarke College in the first round scheduled
for Wednesday.
Offense and solid pitching have SAU on winning streak
by Eric Brundies (04/15/08)
Maybe they just needed some warmer weather.
After beginning the season 2-13, the St. Ambrose Queen Bees softball team has won nine out of their last 12 games, including six games in a row dating back to Apr. 6.
They headed up to La Crosse on Sunday to face Viterbo in a Midwest Collegiate Conference match-up.
St. Ambrose wasted no time getting going in game one, scoring four runs in the top of the first on two RBI singles and two errors by Viterbo.
The Queen Bees would tack on runs throughout the game while starter Megan Marlier went six innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on eight hits while striking out three.
Sarah Porzal would close out the game, pitching a scoreless seventh inning and giving the Queen Bees an 8-2 game one victory.
SAU combined for a season-high 16 hits, as every starter in the lineup would get at least one hit.
Jessica Murphy and Felicia Fiorito each led the team with three hits, while Murphy and Malerie Huber each finished the game with two RBIs.
Game two saw more of the same for the Queen Bees, only this time their bats didn’t get going until the second half of the game.
Each team was held scoreless in the first three innings of the game.
SAU finally got going in the top of the fourth on a two-run homer by Kelly Kratt followed by a solo home run by Megan Tracy, giving the team a 3-0 lead.
They would add two more in the top half of the fifth on a two RBI double by Murphy. Meanwhile Melissa Krueger got the start for the Queen Bees and pitched six scoreless innings, allowing just four hits and striking out three.
SAU added three more runs in the top of the sixth as they would win easily 8-0, sweeping both games against Viterbo.
The team would finish this game with 11 hits, with five different players all finishing with two hits. Murphy and Kratt each finished with two RBIs.
T
he Queen Bees headed home on Tuesday to face Ashford University. They would start slow in game one, as Ashford would score two runs off SAU’s Megan Marlier in the top of the first.
St. Ambrose would battle back and tie it up in the bottom of the third as they scored two runs on an RBI single and an RBI walk.
They would tack on five more runs in the bottom of the fourth on a three-run homer by Melissa Krueger followed by a two RBI double later in the inning by Marlier.
The Queen Bees would win by a score of 10-2 after scoring three more times in the bottom of the fifth. They would finish with 14 hits, their second-most on the season. Krueger and Caitlin Polzin led the way with three hits each, while Kruger and Marlier each led the team with three RBIs.
Marlier finished the game allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits while striking out seven. She now has a record of 7-8 on the season with an impressive 2.18 ERA.
Krueger got the start in game two as the Queen Bees tried to get what would be their sixth straight win.
Genevieve Berent got it started for SAU in the bottom of the second with a three-run homer.
After Ashford scored a run in the top of the third inning, the Queen Bees added three more runs in the bottom half of the inning, giving them a 6-1 lead after three innings of play.
After scoring three more RBI singles in the bottom of the fifth, St. Ambrose cruised to a 9-1 victory, making it six wins in a row.
Berent reached base all three times she came to the plate. She finished the game 2 for 2 with a home run, a walk, and a team-high 4 RBIs.
Krueger also had a solid outing, allow just four hits and one run in five innings while striking out three.
With the victory, SAU moves to 10-6 on the year in the MCC and 11-16 overall. They will face Iowa Wesleyan on Wednesday night in Mt. Pleasant.
Queen Bees sweep and get swept in weekend play
by Eric Brundies (04/06/08)
The St. Ambrose Queen Bees softball team had a rough start
to their weekend before finishing it off on a high note as they followed up a
sweep by Mount Mercy College with a sweep of their own against Grand View.
SAU would get on the board first in game one against Mount
Mercy on an error in the top of the second inning. Megan Marlier got the start
for the Queen Bees and didn’t allow a run through the first five innings.
Mount Mercy would hold St. Ambrose scoreless for the next
four innings as the game would remain 1-0 throughout most of the game. In the
bottom of the sixth Mount Mercy would finally break through with two doubles
resulting in two RBIs followed by an RBI single as they would take a 3-1 lead.
SAU would have one more chance in the top of the seventh
inning but could not come up with anymore runs as Mount Mercy would hang on to
win game one. Each team would finish with three hits.
Mount Mercy would strike first in game two, scoring a run
on a fielder’s choice in the bottom of the first off SAU’s Melissa Krueger. St.
Ambrose tied the game at one in the top of the second as Malerie Huber would
score on a passed ball. They wouldn’t hold the lead for long, however, as Mount
Mercy would score one run in each of the next three innings, taking a 4-2 lead
after four innings.
Both teams would pitch well in the last three innings of
the game as no more runs were scored for either team, thus giving Mount Mercy
the two-run victory. Krueger would give up four runs (two earned) on nine hits
in six innings. She would also walk three and strikeout one.
After a rough Saturday, the Queen Bees headed home for two
games against Grand View, who only had one conference loss on the season
entering play Sunday.
The game didn’t begin well for SAU as Grand View would
score twice in the top of the first on back-to-back home runs off Megan Marlier.
Both teams would pitch very well from then on as no runs were scored in the next
five innings.
In the bottom of the seventh, St. Ambrose began to rally
down by two. Kara Glunz would lead off the inning with a double. Caitlin Polzin
would then ground out to shortstop, advancing Glunz over to third. Marlier then
followed with an RBI single, scoring Glunz and cutting the Grand View lead to
one.
With one out, left fielder Jessica Murphy came to the plate
and hit a walk-off two-run homer to give the Queen Bees a 3-2 victory. Murphy
finished the day 1 for 3, but her one hit was the difference in the game.
In addition to the walk-off home run, SAU benefited from a
very solid outing by Marlier who dominated after giving up two runs in the
first. Should would finish the day allowing just six hits and two runs while
striking out seven over seven innings.
As game two began, Grand View would once again score first
on a solo home run in the top of the first inning off Melissa Krueger, who was
getting the start for the Queen Bees.
St. Ambrose quickly took back the lead in the bottom of the
first on back-to-back home runs by Malerie Huber and Kara Glunz. They would add
two more in the bottom of the second on a two-run homer by Tara Miller, giving
SAU a 4-1 lead.
Kruger would allow another run in the top of the fourth on
an error but would still pitch very well, giving up just four hits on two runs
(one earned) with eight strikeouts in seven innings as the Queen Bees would
complete the sweep with their 4-2 victory in game two. Glunz would lead the team
with two hits while Miller led with two RBIs.
The Queen Bees have now won four out of their last six
games while improving to a 6-6 record in the Midwest Collegiate Conference and a
7-16 record overall. They currently sit in fifth place in the MCC and will face
Ashford University in Clinton on Tuesday.
Queen Bees open conference season with mixed results
by Eric Brundies (04/01/08)
DAVENPORT, Iowa---The St. Ambrose Queen Bees’ softball team would finish with a 1-3 record from March 26 to March 30.
St. Ambrose would face William Penn for two games on March 26 in Davenport. They would hang tough against the Lady Statesmen in game 1, a game that went scoreless throughout the first two innings.
In the top of the third, the Lady Statesmen broke the 0-0 tie with an RBI single followed by an error three batters later off the Queen Bees’ Megan Marlier.
The Queen Bees would respond in the bottom of the fourth and tie the game at two when Marlier hit a two-run homer with a runner on first.
After a scoreless fifth inning, the Lady Statesmen would take the lead on a double in the top of the sixth. They would add another on a fielder’s choice in the top of the seventh and hold off the Queen Bees for a 4-2 victory. SAU’s offense struggled, producing only five hits.
Melissa Krueger got the start for St. Ambrose in game 2 and struggled by giving up five earned and seven total runs in two and one-thirds innings. SAU would score a run in the bottom of the second on a wild pitch but could not stop the offense of William Penn.
Sarah Porzal would relieve Krueger in the top of the third. She would give up one run in the top of the fourth before pitching a scoreless fifth. The Queen Bees would score two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning on a pair of sacrifice flies to make it an 8-3 ballgame.
The Lady Statesmen would score five runs in the top of the sixth off Porzal to make it a 13-3 game. St. Ambrose would come within seven runs in the bottom half of the sixth on a three-run homer by Krueger, but it wasn’t enough as William Penn scored seven more times in the top of the seventh and cruised to a 20-6 victory.
Despite the loss, the Queen Bees had five players with multiple hits as the team would finish with 12. Krueger led the team with 3 RBIs.
On March 30, the Queen Bees faced Waldorf for two games at home in Davenport. Game 1 was quite a pitcher’s duel, as Marlier got the start for St. Ambrose.
The game would remain scoreless after the first five and a half innings. SAU finally broke through in the bottom of the sixth on a Caitlin Polzin RBI single to take a 1-0 lead.
Waldorf would threaten in the top half of the seventh with runners on first and third with only one out. The Queen Bees would hold on as Marlier, who still had not given up a run, struck out the remaining two batters and gave St. Ambrose the 1-0 victory.
Marlier went the full seven innings, giving up four hits and zero runs. She would also walk zero and strike out eight. Tara Miller led SAU with two hits, while Polzin got the lone RBI as the Queen Bees got their first conference victory of the season.
Game 2 ended up having an entirely different feel than game 1 as both pitchers would struggle. Porzal would pitch just one and one-thirds innings after giving up four earned and eight total runs on three hits and four walks.
Waldorf got out to a 9-0 lead after an inning and a half. St. Ambrose would answer back in the bottom half of the second on a three-run homer by Miller. The Queen Bees would score at least one run in each of the next five innings as Marlier pitched five straight scoreless innings in relief of Porzal.
With two outs in the bottom seventh and trailing by one run, SAU’s Malerie Huber tied the game at nine with a solo home run, completing an incredible comeback after trailing 9-0 early in the game.
It wasn’t meant to be though as the Queen Bees would give up three runs in the top half of the eighth inning. They would then go 1-2-3 in the last of the eighth and were defeated 12-9.
Despite the loss, Miller and Kara Glunz each totaled three RBIs for St. Ambrose. Marlier was also solid in relief, giving up two earned runs in six and two-thirds innings while striking out seven.
SAU is now 1-3 in conference play and 2-13 overall. They will face Clarke at home at 3 PM on April 2nd.
Bees bring in wave of new players, are confident for 2008 season
by Eric Brundies (02/14/08)
The 2008 St. Ambrose Bees softball team will feature 13 incoming freshman players. After finishing fifth in the Midwest Collegiate Conference in 2007, the team is looking for a strong season in 2008.
The team faces some uncertainty having zero seniors and only two juniors, but Head Coach Bridget Murphy expressed great confidence for the upcoming season and looked to improve on the team’s 20-27 mark of 2007.
“Our goal is to finish in the top half of the conference and over .500,” Murphy said. “We have high hopes, and we’re confident we can compete.”
Although they lost three team captains from the 2007 season, St. Ambrose has some key players returning. Juniors Megan Marlier and Kara Glunz will provide veteran leadership for the team. Sophomore Melissa Krueger, who led SAU with a .365 batting average and .422 on-base percentage in 2007, will also be returning.
Coach Murphy has sent the message to her players on what it takes to be successful. “I told them it was 90 percent mentality and 10 percent ability,” Murphy said.
This year’s Bees softball team features a lot of speed as well as depth at several positions. Freshmen Autumn DeGard and Mary Therese Krueger will bolster the catcher position while Freshmen Jessica Mandac, Megan Tracy, Kristin Fischer, and Malerie Huber will add to the outfield.
The seven remaining freshmen will add depth to the infield and pitching. They include Genevieve Berent, Caitlin Polzin, Felicia Fiorito, Sarah Porzel, Jessica Lilja, Katie Matheny, and Jessica Murphy.
The team features seven sophomore players to go along with their two juniors and 13 freshmen. Previously mentioned sophomore Melissa Kruger will be joined by sophomore Kelly Kratt, who in 2007 was third on the team in slugging percentage (.522), as well as sophomores Tara Miller, Emily Field, Heidi Rose, Jamie Schroeder, and Melissa Moses.
The Bees will kick off their season with a six-day road trip starting on March 3. They will travel to St. Louis, MO for two days before heading to Memphis, TN for a day. Finally they will play for two days in Jackson, MS before heading home. Their first conference game will be on March 26 against William Penn.
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