Gustafson Picks Up 300th Win as SCCC Coach

Coming off of a pair of wins at rival Garden City on

Thursday, the Seward County Lady Saints looked to keep their momentum

rolling Saturday as they took on the Luna Lady Roughriders in a double

header under a bright sunshine at Lady Saints Field. Seward did just

that with a pair of shutout victories as Erin Roufosse blanked Luna 3-0

in game one before Sydney Cicchetti put nothing but goose eggs on the

board for the visitors in a 8-0 game two victory.

Seward took the lead early in game one as Alicia Reyes

was hit by a pitch to lead off the game and would later come around to

score on an RBI single from Marisa Coats to make it 1-0 Lady Saints

after 1. The gals in green were back at it in the 2nd inning as Amy

Schartz singled with one out and crossed the plate moments later after

two out singles from Leah Sitter and Reyes to make it 2-0 in favor of

the home team. Seward would leave runners on in the 3rd and 4th innings

and after 4 innings of play the score remained 2-0 Lady Saints. A

defensive miscue from Luna would spark a run scoring inning for Seward

in the bottom of the 5th and the Lady Saints would lead 3-0 after the

inning was complete. Luna got something going in the 6th inning as the

top of their order put together back to back singles to open the frame

to threaten a dent on the scoreboard. After a fly ball dropped in

shallow center field, Seward was able to pick up an out at third base

thanks to a base running glitch from Luna but the bases would be loaded

quickly after another single to pack them full with just one out. A

ground ball to third and a throw home would give the Lady Saints their

second out of the inning and a spectacular diving play by Reyes would

end the threat and keep the Roughriders off the scoreboard through the

6th. A strikeout and a pair of groundouts would end Luna’s hopes in the

7th as the Lady Saints came away with the 3-0 shutout win. Erin

Roufosse posted her 4th consecutive shutout in the victory allowing 6

hits while striking out 5 and walking just 1. Coats finished 3 for 3 in

the middle of the Seward order and accounted for 2 of the 3 runs the

Lady Saints scored with an RBI and a run scored. Sitter was the only

other Lady Saint to pick up multiple hits as she went 2 for 3 with a

stolen base in the contest.

GAME ONE BOX SCORE

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Neither team would get anything going in the 1st inning

of game two as each stranded a two out base runner reaching but Luna had

something going in the 2nd after a dropped third strike would turn into

a runner on third with just one out as they looked to scratch out a run

for the first time on the afternoon. After a pop up and a strikeout the

Roughrider threat was averted and the Lady Saints came to hit in the

bottom of the 2nd frame. A Brittany Kent double would start a string of

seven straight Lady Saints reaching base with the big blows in the

inning coming with a bases clearing double off the bat of Alicia Reyes

and a two out RBI double from Brianna Baron. Seward wasn’t done scoring

however as Kent ripped her second double of the inning off the center

field wall to plate two more and give the Lady Saints a 7 run inning.

Knocked back on their heels, Luna would go down in order in their half

of the 3rd but the Lady Saints wouldn’t be able to add to their lead as

they left a runner on second as the inning came to a close. A Shelby

Casey double would set up a scoring opportunity for Seward in the bottom

of the 4th inning and a one out single from Baron through the box would

put the Lady Saints up 8-0. A two out single would be all that Luna

could muster as they looked to escape the run rule but a pop out to

first base would seal their fate as Seward finished off the 8-0 run rule

win. Sydney Cicchetti allowed just 2 Luna hits in the ballgame while

striking out 7 Roughriders in the complete game shutout. Her run

support came in large part from the top of the Seward order as Reyes

finished with 3 RBI’s from the leadoff spot and Baron and Kent both

finished the game 2 for 3 with 2 RBI’s. Casey picked up 2 hits and 2

runs scored in the win and Amy Schartz drove in and scored a run in the

8-0 victory. The double header sweep was more than just two more

non-conference wins for Andrea Gustafson as the Lady Saints 8th year

Head Coach recorded her 300th career win with the game one victory and

now sports a 301-152 overall record for the Lady Saints. The wins make

the Lady Saints 34-7 on the season as they head back into conference

play Wednesday against Barton at Lady Saints Field at 3:00.