CHARLOTTE, N.C.- Queens University of Charlotte softball was swept at Jack Ingram Field by Pfeiffer University in a set of extra-inning games. The Falcons needed 12 innings in the opener to beat the Royals 2-1 before notching a 4-3, eight inning win in game two. The loss drops Queens below .500 at 20-21 overall, 11-6 in Conference Carolinas action and Pfeiffer improves to 18-26 overall, 8-10 in league play.

Queens returns home on Saturday to host Coker College in the Royals' last home game of the season.

 

Game One 

Both teams were scoreless through 10 innings of game one after Pfeiffer thought they won in the bottom of the tenth. What would have been a walk-off hit by Sam Taylor, turned out to be a lineup infraction against the  Falcons, wiping off a 1-0 win and continuing the contest into the 11th.

 

Alisha Waldrop (McDonough, GA , Luella) began the inning on second base due to international tiebreaker rules and moved to third on Carrie Beth Richie's (Fayetteville, N.C., Northwood Temple Academy) sacrifice bunt. After a Chantel Dodge (Shalimar, Fla., Choctawhatchee) strikeout, Brandy Jester (Georgetown, Del., Sussex Central) cranked a RBI-double to put the visitors up 1-0.

 

In the home half of the inning, Mariah Chalk started at second and scampered to third on a Kylee Nichols infield single. Amber Johnson quickly followed with a RBI-single knotting the contest at 1-1, headed to the 12th.

 

After Queens was unsuccessful moving the initial runner in the top of the frame, Pfeiffer made the Royals pay with small ball in the home half of the stanza. Heather Nobles moved to third on Kirsten Patterson's sacrifice, scoring on the next at bat with Taylor's game-winning hit of the contest.

 

Both hurlers were spectacular in game one as Allison Braswell picked up the win tossing all dozen frames, allowing the unearned run on two hits with seven strikeouts. In the tough-luck loss, Dodge allowed two unearned runs on six hits with 15 strikeouts.

 

Game Two 

More excitement was in store for game two as each team traded runs in the fifth and sixth carrying a 1-1 lead into extra innings.

 

A lead-off walk by Waldrop in the Queens fifth, set the table as Jester sacrificed her over to second. After bolting to third on a wild pitch, Dodge struck with the sacrifice fly to right putting the visitors up 1-0. In the Pfeiffer sixth, Nobles lifted off with her tenth home run of the season to help send the contest into free softball.

 

In the eighth, Amanda Bowman (Kernersville, N.C,, Glenn) would single home Megan Rollins (Salem, Ore., South Salem) who began the inning as a pinch-runner at second. Bowman then swiped second and third, plating on Maria Goode's (Charlotte, N.C., Providence) sac-fly to right.

 

Trailing by two, Pfeiffer began the rally by taking advantage of three Royals errors as Bryttny Kreshka reached on an error at first while Johnson sprinted over to third. After a Sarah Waylock sac-fly scored Johnson, Patterson would reach on the second miscue by the defense allowing Kreshka to score from third. Taylor provided a bit of the heroics again reaching on the final error on a throw to first which allowed Nobles to scamper around from second with the nightcap's game-winner.

 

Again, both tossing in the circle were on target. On the flip side, Jester took the loss allowing just one earned run on six hits, fanning nine. Melanie Conklin tallied the win with three runs, two earned, on just two hits with nine strikeouts.