Dellatore?s Extra Inning Blast Gives Blue Hens Twinbill Split at Towson

Saturday, April 30

Towson, Md.

12:00 PM

University of Delaware

Towson

Dellatore?s Extra Inning Blast Gives Blue Hens Twinbill Split at Towson

4/30/2016 5:30:00 PM | Softball

By: Delaware Athletics

• Game 1 Box
• Game 2 Box

TOWSON, Md. -- Blue Hen sophomore third baseman Alyshia Dellatore belted a solo home run off the scoreboard in the top of the ninth inning as the University of Delaware softball team split a doubleheader with Towson Saturday afternoon at the TU Softball Stadium.

The Tigers (32-15, 8-8 CAA) posted a 2-1 win in nine innings during the opener, before the Blue Hens (29-18, 9-8 CAA) recorded a 4-3 nine-inning victory in the nightcap.

Mariah Kondravy and Anna Steinmetz hit back to back homers in the top of the third of the nightcap to put Delaware in front, and after Megan Dejter replaced Blakely Thrower in the circle for Towson, Shelby Jones immediately went deep to make it a 3-0 game.

Blue Hen pitcher Carolyn Szymanski carried a one-hit shutout into the bottom of the seventh, but allowed a leadoff homer to Daria Edwards. After a single and two outs, Caroline Reid blasted a two-run shot to left that pulled the Tigers even.

The game remained knotted at 3-3 until the top of the ninth, when Dellatore drilled her first career homer to rightcenter to put Delaware back on top. Blue Hen reliever Kiersten Coffman allowed a one-out walk in the bottom half, but then retired the next two Tigers batters to seal the victory.

Coffman improved to 18-7 after striking out five batters in 2.1 scoreless frames, after Szymanski allowed three runs in 6.2 innings of work. Kondravy, Steinmetz and Dellatore each finished 2 for 4 with a homer at the plate to lead the UD attack.

Towson struck first in the opener when Kendyl Scott led off the bottom of the first inning by drilling a home run to leftfield. The Blue Hens drew even in the top of the third as Hannah George led off with a single, moved to second when Leanna Gearhart reached on a fielder's choice, and scored on a pair of groundouts by Mattie Nuccio and Kondravy.

Coffman allowed hits to three of the first four batters, but then retired 16 straight Tigers as the game remained deadlocked until extra innings. Delaware looked to take the lead in the top of the ninth when Steinmetz led off with a double to center, but Tigers pitcher Ambar Hickman got out of the jam to keep the contest tied.

After a walk and an error put Towson runners on first and second with one out in the bottom of the frame, Reid ripped an RBI single down the leftfield line to give the Tigers the victory.

Coffman took the loss despite allowing just two runs on five hits and striking out 11 batters, while Hickman improved to 12-5 after giving up just one run on four hits.

The teams are scheduled to close out the weekend series on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the TU Softball Stadium.

Game Notes:
• Delaware played its second and third extra inning games of the season
• The Blue Hens played consecutive extra inning games for the first time since Feb. 9-22, 2013
• The Blue Hens' four homers in the nightcap tied a UD single game record
• Delaware has hit 27 home runs, tied for second most in a single season
• Kondravy belted the 19th homer of her career, four shy of the Blue Hen mark
• Coffman's 18 wins are tied for third most in a UD single season

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Kevin Tritt at: ktritt@udel.edu (email) / 302-831-8715 (office) / 302-383-5005 (cell)