BOCA RATON, Fla. ? Erika Stasch's single through the right side scored the go ahead run as the Tigers defeated Central Michigan 3-1 on Sunday morning at the Miken Classic. The Tigers (8-4) got a solid performance from Dominique Ortega in the circle as she picked up her second straight victory.
"I thought Erika and Dominique played a crucial role in our victory today," said Coach Lisa Costello. "Stasch made a great diving catch in the outfield and knocked in two of our three runs while Ortega did a good job in the circle."
Central Michigan grabbed an early lead in the game with a single run in the bottom of the first. Christina Novak reached on an error and stole second. Brittini Merchant singled to center which allowed Novak to reach third. Novak scored the first run of the game as she stole home.
In the fourth, Kim Lempa reached on an error leading off the inning for the Tigers. She advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Emily Gould. Lempa would reach third on a ground out before Mindy Bean singled through the right side. Lempa scored the tying run on Bean's base hit. Bean stole second before Stasch's base hit allowed her to score the go ahead run.
In the sixth, Gould led off with a double to center field. After the Tigers were able to load the bases, Stasch came through again for the Tigers. This time she lifted a sacrifice fly to centerfield to give the Tigers a 3-1 advantage.
Ortega picked up her second win of the weekend after going 6.1 innings. She allowed one unearned run on eight hits, striking out three and walking none. Shannon Johnston got the final two outs of the seventh inning to pick up her first save of the year. Ali Pettit took the loss for Central Michigan after giving up three runs in seven innings.
Stasch was 1-for-2 with two RBIs while Bean went 1-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI. Lempa and Gould each had one hit and scored a run.
The Tigers were originally scheduled to make their home debut on Tuesday afternoon but that game has been postponed. The Tigers will return to action on Wednesday, March 11 when they travel to College Park to take on Maryland at 5 p.m.
