Apr. 18, 2011

Box Score Gm. 1
Box Score Gm. 2

The weather was blustery and cold. The game was thought to be out of reach. And then Lightning struck.

Trailing 10-2 entering the last half of the seventh inning, the Lehman Lightning staged a furious rally, scoring five runs before falling just short in losing 10-7 to visiting Mount St. Mary College in the second game of its doubleheader on Monday afternoon. The Lightning also dropped the first game, 16-3.

Freshman Andrea Vazquez got the rally started when she reached on an error by first baseman Jackie Governale. Ashley Falcon followed up with a single to move Vazquez to second. Lakeisha Gordon then grounded one to shortstop Chelsea Hepburn, who tried to nail Vazquez at third but instead threw wide to pull Sarah Johnson off the bag and load the bases. Nicole Pinero, batting right handed, then made the Knights pay, pounding a double to right center to bring home Vazquez and Falcon.

After Vania Cadet lined out to left, Natalie Martinez smacked a single to left scoring Gordon. Genesis Batista continued the hit parade with a double of her own to drive in both Pinero and Martinez to cut the deficit to 10-7.

Looking to keep the good feelings going, Luz Garcia hit a grounder that was initially misplayed by Johnson at third, but the Knights third baseman kept her cool and cut down Batista at second base for the second out. Jelsey Cox, Lehman's last hope, then grounded out to the pitcher to end the game.

The short circuited comeback capped 12 innings of play during which the Lightning was firmly in both games until it was undone by a Knights' big inning. In the second game, that inning turned out to be the second, when Mount St. Mary posted a four spot after the Lightning had just taken a 2-1 lead. A crucial error in the outfield helped open the door as the Knights scored three unearned runs off Martinez.

During the day's first game, that forgettable inning was the third, when Mount batted around twice in scoring a whopping 11 runs. Nearly every batter in the inning put good swings on the ball, particularly Hepburn, who drove in four runs in the inning with a ground rule double and a two-run single. And once again, the Lightning was hurt by two untimely errors in the field.

The Knights' big inning came after Lehman had battled to a 3-3 tie thanks to an RBI single by Toni Angel Puya in the first and a sacrifice fly by Batista in the second.

Over the course of the two games, Pinero continued to impress for the Lightning as she went 5-for-7 with three runs scored and two RBIs. Lehman also got quality production from Batista (three RBIs) and Gordon (2-for-2 in Game 1), who made several heady plays in the field at shortstop for the Lightning.

A huge game is on tap for the Lightning on Wednesday as it will play York College with a possible berth in the CUNYAC Championships on the line.