Ashbaugh game-winner helps Carson aviod sweep ag ainst Galena

Lindsey Ashbaugh admitted she was nervous when she stepped to the plate with the winning run on second and two outs.

Ashbaugh lined a Kylie Sauer fastball to the gap in left-centerfield to drive home Hannah Shaw with the winning win as Carson avoided a sweep with a 7-6 win in the second game of the doubleheader Saturday afternoon.

Carson softball lost the opener 5-2 and is now 10-5 with two weeks left in the regular season.

Carson enjoyed a comfortable 6-2 lead heading into the sixth when Galena scored four times on two bloop hits and a throwing error by Daria Leid.

Shaw blooped a one-out single to right-centerfield, was sacrificed to second by Belen Munoz and scored on Ashbaugh's drive.

"It was right down the middle," said Ashbaugh, who went 3-for-4 in the second game and 3-for-7 combined in the two games.

"She (Ashbaugh) had a hot hand," Carson coach Scott Vickrey said. "She's been hitting the ball well these two games. I thought if we could get the runner to second that we had a pretty good chance to drive her in. They (Galena) had been aggressive in defending the bunt. They were able to get our lead runner a couple of times."

Carson built a 6-1 lead after two innings, as three errors by Aly Zunino led to five unearned runs. Natalie Morrow drove in two runs, while Daria Leid and winning pitcher Cassie Vondrak drove in one apiece.

Vondrak retired 10 of 13 after a first-inning walk, but Galena pushed across another run in the fifth.

With one out, Rachel Zunino singled, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on Kellie McGinley's single to make it 6-2.

The Grizzlies weren't through, however.

Vondrak hit Kristen Matteoni with a pitch with one out. Matteoni moved to second on a passed ball and scored on Leid's throwing error. After Amanda Parmer flied out, Chelsea Matteoni and Rachel Zunino followed with bloop singles and Kelli McKeegan laced a double into the left-centerfield gap, tying the game at 6.

"It's not like we were playing bad or anything," Vickrey said. "Those (bloops) are part of the game."

What was impressive about the Galena win was that the Grizzlies lost pitcher Megan Fincher in the top of the fourth when she was called out for interference and then was restricted to the bench for lipping off to plate umpire Martin Hommel as she went to the bench.

In the first game of the doubleheader, Carson led 2-0 after three with single runs in the first and third.

A wild pitch scored the first run and Vondrak singled in the second one.

Vondrak, who had allowed only one hit through three innings, gave up three in the fourth and one in the fifth as the Grizzlies took command.

Chelsea Matteoni and Alexa Youngberg had run-scoring hits and a wild pitch accounted for the scoring in the fourth for Galena. In the fifth, Kristin Matteoni singled in Aly Zunino, who had singled and moved to second on a wild pitch.

Kristin Withrow, Krista Mattice, Vondrak, Lauren Knorzer and Katie McEwan all had one hit apiece off Fincher, who struck out eight and walked six.