NEC Top 12 Games of 2012: #2

NEC Top 12 Games of 2012:

#2 – SOFT: Quinnipiac vs. Robert Morris (QU 4-3, 12 innings) – 5/11/12

Over the course of compiling this list, I realized what separates a good game, from a great game, from a “top 12 game of the year” game. It isn’t necessarily just about a buzzer beater, or last minute dramatics being involved. No, the separation comes from within storylines. Everyone loves a good story, especially one that is strong enough to captivate the average person and get them emotionally invested in the journey that the characters are taking. In the 2012 NEC Softball Championships, a wonderful story played itself out. A story which captivated just about everyone who was in attendance in Moon Township, and many who had a chance to watch the event online.  In the fifth game of the tournament, an elimination game with a trip to the finals on the line, Quinnipiac met Robert Morris. As Robert Morris freshman pitcher Nicole Sleith tossed the first pitch toward home plate to get the event started at approximately 3:20 in the afternoon, no one could have imagined what they would be in for. Unfolding that afternoon would be a roller coaster story where past history collided with the present performance, where amazing also met up with ridiculous, and where the second best NEC game of the entire 2012 calendar year was just warming up...

First the back story…In 2011, the Quinnipiac Bobcats and Robert Morris Colonials met up in the exact same situation: Game 5, elimination game, winner advances to the finals. Trailing 3-2 in the top of the 6^th, just five outs away from elimination, Jacqueline Ristow and Mina Duffy blasted back to back home runs to but the Bobcats in front 4-3. Quinnipiac would finish out the game, sending the Colonials packing, and advancing to the finals against Sacred Heart. However, it wouldn't exactly be that easy. The entire tournament had been set back by a series of rain delays in Moon Township, PA throughout the weekend. Immediately after the Robert Morris win, Quinnipiac and Sacred Heart began their final, getting to the fourth inning with Sacred Heart in front 3-2 before play had to be halted due to darkness. When the teams returned the next morning set to resume their final, the field was ruled unplayable. Due to the Pioneers going 2-0 in their first two tournament games while the Bobcats went 2-1 in the tournament to that point, Sacred Heart was awarded the NEC’s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. The Bobcats endured a long ride back to Hamden without a title, and yet without having tasted defeat in their final game.

Irony filled the air as Robert Morris would once again serve as the top seed in 2012, meaning the Bobcats were forced to return to the ‘scene of the crime.’ Irony also arose after LIU-Brooklyn defeated Robert Morris 1-0 on the day’s opener, sending the Colonials to Game 5, while the Bobcats followed up by surviving an elimination game against Monmouth 4-1. Ace pitcher Heather Schwartzburg threw a complete seven innings in the victory, her 19^th of the season. It would set up, for the second straight year, the Bobcats and Colonials in a winner take all game for the right to advance to the final. This time there would be no issues with the field or weather.

The final out of the QU/MU game was recorded at 2:24pm. Just 56 minutes later the first pitch of the QU/RMU game was thrown. The short time period in between games meant that Schwartzburg wouldn’t be available to start after having just pitched seven innings. Meanwhile, on the other side, Sleith had over three hours to rest and recover from her start earlier in the day against the Blackbirds.

Katie Alfiere would get the starting nod in the circle for Quinnipiac, holding the Colonials scoreless through the first two innings. In the top of the third, the Bobcat bats came alive, getting their first three hitters on board and loading the bases with nobody out. Alex Alba singled to left center, plating Lauren Salgado for the first run of the game. Two batters later, Nikki Barba singled to drive in Christy Cabrera, giving Quinnipiac a 2-0 lead. Later on, with the bases still loaded, Kourtney Kesses was hit by a pitch to bring in a third run. In the bottom of the third, the Colonials had two on with one out when Bobcat head coach Germaine Fairchild made the move to bring back Schwartzburg into the circle. It would take a while for her to get settled in, as a pair of wild pitches first allowed the baserunners to advance, and then allowed one run to come in, cutting the Colonial deficit to 3-1. From there, Schwartzburg would get into a zone, retiring eight straight batters to get the game to the bottom of the 6^th with Quinnipiac still up by two.

The home half of the 6^th is where things started to get interesting.  The Colonials had runners on at second and third with two out and Maritza Jimenez pinch hitting. Jimenez would reach on a throwing error plating an unearned run. We then got into a situation where a Colonial runner was called safe at first on a bang-bang play, while replays appeared to show that the runner was out. The Bobcats believed that the inning was over. However after a lengthy argument and discussion, the umpires ruled the runner safe, extending the frame an extra batter. Chelsea Evans would come in to pinch run at first, and would try to take off for second, drawing a throw from Bobcats catcher Ashley Heiberger. On that cue, Allie Patton stole home on a perfectly executed double steal to knot the game up at three runs apiece.

The next five innings would be scoreless, with each team seeing wasted opportunities go by. RMU left two on base in the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings, all with a chance to walk off with the game. The Colonials would strand 15 overall baserunners on the day. With one out in the tenth, the Colonials inserted Geena Bodolato into the contest, relieving Sleith, who went 9.1 innings, scattering 12 hits, allowing 3 runs, with just one walk and eight strikeouts.

In the top of the 12^th, the Bobcats finally broke through. With runners on at second and third and just one out, Heiberger, who caught a full seven inning game, caught the bullpen warmups, and then in under an hour break went right back out to catch all 11 innings to this point of this game, stepped up to the plate. Heiberger skied a fly ball to center field, plenty deep to score Alba from third, giving the Bobcats a 4-3 lead.

The Colonials had one last chance power drive in the bottom of the 12^th, trying to avoid another heartbreak on their home field. Schwartzburg, who had to be running on fumes and/or pure adrenaline at this point, walked the first batter, but then managed to retire the second and third batters on fielder’s choice ground outs. Katrina Gallagher would step to the plate representing the winning run for Robert Morris, but also representing the final out. Schwartzburg would induce a simple groundout, ending the marathon and ending the Colonials season for the second straight year.

NEC Front Row announcer Danny Breslauer was on the call with me for all three hours and nine minutes of this game had he recalled the following from that special May afternoon in Moon Township: “12 innings is a long, long game in softball. Both teams had truly gutty performances. There were a few bang-bang calls that I thought Pack Network did a great job of showing us, so that built the drama even more because they went against QU. Germaine Fairchild managed an outstanding game, and Heather Schwartzburg was nasty in long relief, but Ashley Heiberger was what this game was all about. Catching for the better part of three-plus hours and still having enough left in the tank for a game-winning sac fly was awesome."

This marathon marked the longest game in NEC Softball Championship history both in length (12 innings) and in time (3:09). Heather Schwartzburg earned her 20^th win of the season, in relief, on 9.2IP of 7H ball, allowing just 2 unearned runs allowed while striking out 11 Colonials. The next day, the Bobcats would finally get to play their championship game without any cancellation or interruption, falling to LIU-Brooklyn 10-5.

To wrap things up, Danny Breslauer may have said it best, "That was quite a weekend in Moon Township. LIU-Brooklyn was the best team there, and I think we knew that from the start, but that elimination game stole the show... and then some."

Box Score

NEC Game Recap

QU Game Recap

Robert Morris Game Recap

NEC Highlights

 

Previous Top 12 NEC Games of 2012:

#3 – MSOC: Fairleigh Dickinson vs. St. Francis (FDU 1-1, 6-5 in PK) – 11/11/12

#4 – BOWL: Fairleigh Dickinson vs. Nebraska (FDU 4-3) – 4/13/12

#5 – FH: Monmouth vs. Rider, NEC Field Hockey Championship (RID 3-2) – 11/3/12

#6 – FB: Central Connecticut State at Robert Morris (RMU 37-31) – 10/20/12

#7 – MLAX: Mount St. Mary’s vs. Robert Morris (MSM 16-15, OT) – 5/4/12

#8 – SWIM: Day Four of the NEC Swimming Championships (SFU 748-747) – 2/25/12

#9 – BASE: Wagner at Fairleigh Dickinson (FDU 4-3, 12 innings) – 4/7/12

#10 - WSOC: LIU-Brooklyn vs. St. Francis, 2012 NEC Women’s Soccer Final (LIU 1-0) – 11/4/12

#11 – WVB: Robert Morris at Sacred Heart (SHU 3-2) – 10/13/12

#12 (tie) – WBB: Central Connecticut State at St. Francis (SFU 86-83, 2OT) – 2/20/12

#12 (tie) – WBB: LIU-Brooklyn at Monmouth (MU 55-54) – 2/25/12