Softball Wins 10th Straight; Drops Seton Hall, 4-0

(boxscore)

4/11/07 -- Sophomore Jenny Giles (Melbourne, Fla.) hurled her second consecutive complete-game shutout and senior Randi Gillespie (San Jose, Calif.) continued her red-hot play with a 3-for-4 performance from the plate as the Long Island University softball team won its 10th consecutive contest, a 4-0 blanking of Seton Hall, on Wednesday evening.

Giles struggled early but was able to escape a couple of jams unscathed to notch her 10th victory of the season. The Florida native struck out seven, including three of the last four batters she faced. With today's three hits, Gillespie boosts her team-best batting average to .468.

The Blackbirds (18-16) got on the board in the opening inning as Gillespie lead off the contest with a single. Junior Brittany Murphy (Los Alamitos, Calif.) followed with another base hit through the left side. After a foul out, junior Celina Castillo (Bay Area, Calif.) loaded the bases as she reached on an error by the third baseman. Freshman Raylene Asman (Escondido, Calif.) drove in her team-leading 17th run of the season next on a sacrifice fly to right field to give LIU a 1-0 lead.

The score would remain the same for the majority of the game as each team struggled to take advantage of opportunities. The Pirates left two runners on in each of the first two innings and then had a golden opportunity in the fourth. A single by Shannon Pease led off the frame and after a sacrifice moved her to second and Giles induced a groundout, Laura Baranek ripped her second single of the day, moving the runner to third and advancing herself to second base on the throw to home place.

Madon Maile stepped to the plate for Seton Hall and hit a short grounder to the right side. Gillespie fielded the ball, spun and threw to second baseman Brynn Lewis (Woodinville, Wash.), who stepped on first base just before the runner to end the inning and keep the 1-0 advantage.

Long Island broke out for a three-run seventh to get some breathing room. Castillo came through with two-run double to right center that scored a pair while junior Jessie DePippo (Westlake Village, Calif.) drove in the final run of the game on a line-drive fielder’s choice to right field.

LIU looks to extend its winning streak and remain unbeaten in Northeast Conference play as it faces Fairleigh Dickinson in a doubleheader on Thursday.