Sophomore right fielder Emily Cameron strolled up to the plate confidently, knowing exactly what she needed to do.
The Elon University softball team was tied with Niagara University in the bottom of the eighth, the game’s first extra inning, and the go-ahead run was 60 feet away in the person of freshman left fielder Alaina Hall. There was one out, meaning Cameron needed only to hit a fly ball deep enough into the outfield to allow Hall to beat a potential relay throw to home plate.
And on the 2-2 pitch from the Niagara freshman reliever Bridget Hogan, Cameron did just that, lofting a fly ball just far enough into left field to score a hustling Hall on a sacrifice fly and give the Phoenix a thrilling 6-5 win in the first game of the Phoenix Opening Classic.
“I knew they were playing me in, so I just tried to hit over their head,” Cameron said. “The pitch was kind of high and I kind of took a jab at it, but it worked out. I got the barrel of the bat on it.”
The crowd of 264 was treated to a wildly entertaining, back-and-forth clash, which began as a pitcher’s duel through the first two and a half innings.
“(Niagara’s senior starter Jennifer Sansano) is more of an off-speed pitcher, and our kids are better hitting speed,” Elon coach Kathy Bocock said. “Sometimes it takes a little time to adjust to the off-speed stuff.”
In the bottom of the third, the Phoenix broke through. First, freshman catcher Emily Roper ripped a single into left to score Hall. After a walk to junior first baseman Grace Eng to load the bases, senior shortstop Ali Ford was walked, scoring Cameron from third. Junior third baseman Aly Quintana then singled to left, scoring Roper, and putting the Phoenix up 3-0. The Phoenix added a fourth run on another walk yielded by Sansano to senior designated hitter Johanna Spencer.
The Purple Eagles battled back in the bottom of the fifth, adding two runs of their own on a double from junior center fielder Katelyn Gruarin and a single from junior catcher Amanda Werth to cut the Phoenix’s lead in half, 4-2.
After a scoreless sixth for both teams, the Purple Eagles came to bat in the top of the seventh needing two to force extras while facing junior reliever Caitlin O’Shea, who had come in to spell freshman starter Alli Burdette with one out in the fifth and retired all five batters she had faced.
“I thought Alli did a really good job,” Bocock said. “But (Niagara) was starting to see her pitches real good (in the fifth), and Caitlin O’Shea has done a really good job for us coming in when we’ve had runners on and she did exactly what we needed.”
By her third inning of work, though, O’Shea was beginning to tire, and the Purple Eagles took advantage.
After a leadoff walk to junior left fielder Ambur Farmer, senior right fielder Brittany Richburg hit a chopper to O’Shea, who turned toward second with the intention of throwing out the lead runner, only to see neither Phoenix middle infielder covering the bag. She turned toward first, but the speedy Richburg had already reached, giving Niagara runners on first and second with no outs.
After a Gruarin single to load the bases, Werth singled to center just under the diving reach of senior second baseman Lauren Oldham, scoring Farmer and Richburg and tying the game at 4. Two batters later, senior third baseman Aileen Hinton grounded out to shortstop, scoring Gruarin and putting the Phoenix down one.
But Elon mounted a rally in the bottom of the frame. After a walk to Roper, Eng doubled to right center, putting runners on second and third with no one out. But, with the Phoenix on the threshold of a walkoff win, Ford flew out to shallow right, forcing Roper to stay at third, and Quintana popped out to the shortstop. All of a sudden, the game went from being second away from the Phoenix’s grasp to hanging on the shoulders of freshman pinch hitter Carey Million.
But Million was able to come off the bench cold and rip a single into left, scoring Roper and forcing the game into extras, where the Phoenix would win in the bottom of the first extra frame.
“Our girls did a nice job coming back, and I think that came from last week in Stetson,” Bocock said. “They knew we’ve come from behind before, and once you start doing that, you believe you can in every game.”
Burdette went four and one-third innings, allowing two runs on six hits, walking one and striking out three. She was given a no decision.
The win moves the Phoenix to 6-3-1 on the season, while the Purple Eagles dropped to 0-1.
Elon will continue play in the Phoenix Opening tournament with a doubleheader Feb. 21. At approximately 12:15, the Phoenix will take on St. Joseph’s University, and will then take on the University of Maryland-Baltimore County shortly after its game with the Hawks.