BOCA RATON, Fla. – Lions’ junior hurler, Kristen Kelly, tossed a complete game four hitter as the Saint Leo softball team (12-13, 1-0 SSC) opened Sunshine State Conference action by downing the Lynn University Fighting Knights (4-16, 0-4 SSC), 2-1, from the McCusker Sports Complex in Boca Raton, Fla.
The Lions, who collected four hits off of Lynn pitching, used a plethora of tactics in helping the Lions to their first conference win of the season.
Clutch hitting was one of those tactics as the Lions struck first in the conference battle when the visitor’s capitalized on a third inning lead-off walk by JamieLee Basinger. After a pair of Lions went down swinging, Saint Leo’s Elysha Agen roped a two out RBI double down the right field line to score Basinger from second.
With the Lions possessing a 1-0 lead after three innings, Kelly settled inside the circle as she kept the Fighting Knights’ batters off bay for the majority of the afternoon. In fact, Kelly faced just two batters over the minimum through the first five innings.
With Kelly cruising in the circle, the Lions received what proved to be a critical insurance run in the top of the fifth inning. With one out, Lions’ pinch hitter, Katie Gwinn, stepped to the plate and blasted a solo home run over the left centerfield fence to give Saint Leo a 2-0 lead. The home run was the first on the season for Gwinn, and was the eventual game-winner.
The Fighting Knight desperately tried to respond in the bottom of the sixth inning when they scratched their lone run of the game across the plate, cutting the lead in half, 2-1.
That’s as close as Lynn got, however, as Kelly stranded the game tying run at third base in the bottom of the seventh to preserve the Lions’ win and her first complete game win since March 28, 2009.
In total, Kelly scattered four hits and struck out four batters in the region win as she improved to 3-1 on the season.
Brittany Yates and Sarah Boyd also picked base hits for the Lions.
Saint Leo will conclude their conference-opening series with Lynn on Saturday, March 5. First pitch for the doubleheader is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
