Box score
FT. MYERS, Fla. – For the third time in two days, the Northern Kentucky University softball team saw a game end in walk-off fashion, as Florida Gulf Coast claimed a 2-1 victory in extra innings on Sunday to sweep the weekend's Atlantic Sun Conference series.
For the second time in as many games, Alexis Ross hit a pinch-hit RBI single in the bottom of the eighth to score Kayla Ramey to claim victory in walk-off fashion. FGCU (35-16, 16-7 A-Sun) won all three games in the series on walk-off hits, including two in extra innings.
NKU (11-38, 5-19 A-Sun) got on the board in the top of the first inning, kicking off the scoring rally with a leadoff infield single by
KC Straley. After
Dee Dee Davis sacrificed Straley to second,
Alexis VanHorn hit a ground ball that Eagles shortstop Regan Knapik couldn't handle, scoring Straley on the error.
NKU pitcher
Emily Schwaeble sat down the first nine batters she faced before FGCU got a run to tie the game in the fourth inning. A leadoff walk and a single put a pair of runs on base. After a wild pitch put a pair in scoring position, Kelsey Carpenter lifted a sacrifice fly to center field.
The Norse had a chance to retake the lead in the top of the fifth after
Dana Jarboe led off the inning with a single to right field, the first of her two hits on the game.
Allie Conner's sacrifice bunt moved Jarboe into scoring position before Davis laced a single back up the middle, but a strong throw by FGCU's Mariah Fernandez cut Jarboe down at the plate to preserve the tie.
Jarboe completed her two-hit game with another single to right field in the seventh inning, marking NKU's only hit following the scoring opportunity in the fifth.
A leadoff pinch-hit single in the bottom of the eighth inning by Hannah Horwath set up the game's finish. Ramey entered the game as a pinch runner and a sacrifice by Knapik moved her into scoring position. The Norse intentionally walked Barnes to make way for Ross to pinch hit for Williams, who had two hits in the game herself. Ross pulled a 1-1 pitch down the left-field line to end the game.
FGCU's Jaclyn Owen (12-6) got her third win in the circle in as many games, giving up just one unearned run on six hits while striking out three. Schwaeble (5-21) took the loss, picking up four strikeouts for the Norse.
Schwaeble and
Michelle Carson also picked up hits for the Norse in the game.
NKU closes out the 2013 season this weekend with a three-game series against Lipscomb. Friday's doubleheader and Saturday's single game are each scheduled for a 1 p.m. first pitch. The Norse will honor their senior class in a special ceremony prior to Saturday's contest.
