CHARLOTTE, N.C.- Audra Littlejohn (Riverside, Calif., Centennial ) stepped to the plate in a do-or-die situation for the Royals Friday afternoon at Park Road Park. The Erskine Flying Fleet held a 2-1 advantage in the bottom of the seventh with two outs down. Littlejohn had a full count at the plate and connected for a single to drive in the game-tying and game-winning runs. Queens took game two 3-2.
Game one went the other way with the Fleet (17-13/4-2 CC) giving Queens (14-17/5-1 CC) its first Conference Carolinas loss of the season, 1-0.
Queens had nine hits on the day while Erskine had 12. Brittany Stephens (Charlotte, N.C., Hickory Grove Baptist) led the team with three hits. Erskine's Jocelyn Smith also had three hits.
Chantel Dodge (Shalimar, Fla., Choctawatchee) struckout 16 batters in game one and gave up just four hits. She entered the second game in the fourth inning and amassed five Ks and gave up three hits. Stephens started game two in the circle, giving up five hits and two runs.
Game 1
Two back to back hits are what did the Royals in. In the top of the sixth Kayla Vinson singled up the middle to get on base. Katie Knapp hit a double to the right field fence to bring in Vinson, but then she was thrown out trying to advance to third on the throw. Queens finished the inning without letting anymore players get on base.
In the first five innings the teams combined for just three hits.
Lauren Gunter picked up the win for Erskine. She gave up three hits and struck out three batters.
Game 2
Queens posted the first runs of the game in their first at-bat. Leadoff batter Mary Lee Giurintano (Greensboro, N.C. , Glenn ) started the inning with a double down the left field line. A sac groundout by Amanda Bowman (Kernersville, N.C., Glenn) advanced Giurintano to third and she crossed home with a sac play by Kari Kmetic (Milwaukie, Ore., Putnam).
Two single shot homers by Knapp and Lindsey LaPrad in the fourth gave Erskine a one run advantage. Dodge entered the second game in the fourth and struck out the last two batters of the inning, leaving two runners on for Erskine.
The Royals offense connected on one pitch in the fifth and sixth innings, leaving one batter on base. It would all come down to the final inning for the Royals.
In the top of the seventh Erskine put two on base with singles and a walked batter loaded the bases with no outs. Dodge got the Royals out of the inning without giving up any runs.
Megan Campbell (Raleigh, N.C., Athens Drive ) opened the bottom of the seventh, grounding out to the Erskine catcher. Keeya Turner (Fayetteville, N.C., 71st ) battled to get on base, hitting a single up the middle. Dodge flied out on the next play, but Stephens kept the game alive with a single. Littlejohn, who was the flex player for the game, replaced the Megan Rollins (Salem, Ore., South Salem) at the plate, who was the designated player. With a full count and two outs, Littlejohn hit a single down the right field line. Turner scored easily and Stephens was able to slide in at home under the throw for the 3-2 win.
Dodge gets the win for Queens and is now 9-11 on the season. Leigh Ann Shelley pitched 1.2 innings and Rebekah George finished the game for Erskine.
