Mar. 1, 1998 COLUMBUS, Ga.--The No. 2 Washington softball team used its bats and the pitching of sophomore Jennifer Spediacci to down No. 6 Oklahoma, 3-0, to finish third in the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga. UW rebounded from its 1-0 semifinal loss to No. 9 Oklahoma State to split with the Oklahoma schools and now stands 13-3 on the season. Spediacci (6-1) missed pitching a perfect game by one at bat, hitting a batter to open the fourth inning. That was about the only thing she did wrong, allowing no hits and striking out seven Cowgirls in OU's first no-hit game in almost two years. She has allowed only one earned run this season and sports an ERA of 0.15. UW jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the second inning. Junior Becky Newbry reached first on a fielder's choice and then stole second. Freshman Kim DePaul took a walk and classmate Christie Rosenblad put both in scoring position. Spediacci then hit a shot to left field for a double and two RBI. The Huskies struck again in the sixth inning. Senior Eve Gaw started out with a walk and then Newbry sacrificed pinch runner Amber Engen to second. A DePaul double scored Engen for the final run of the game. A combination of cool Husky bats and strong pitching by OSU's Jenn Markert spelled trouble for UW in the opener. Markert allowed only one hit, a single by freshman Kelly Hauxhurst, and struck out 10 batters while pitching the complete game. The Sooners struck in the fourth inning after managing only one hit in the first three frames. Michelle Ryan and Jaime Foutch led off with singles, and Shannon Sullivan's sacrifice moved both into scoring position so that Melissa Turley's short bunt was enough to get Ryan across the plate despite a diving tag by freshman third baseman Kim DePaul. Sophomore Jamie Graves (4-1) pitched four and two-thirds innings before sophomore Jennifer Spediacci relieved her. Game One Washington 000 000 0 -- 0 1 1 Oklahoma State 000 010 0 -- 1 7 0 Jamie Graves, Jennifer Spediacci (5) and Jeanine Giordano; Jenn Markert and Jessica Crawford. WP-Markert. LP-Graves (4-1). Game Two Oklahoma 000 000 0 0 0 3 Washington 020 001 x 3 5 0 Lana Moran and Ashli Barrett; Jennifer Spediacci and Jeanine Giordano. WP-Spediacci (6-1). LP-Moran (10-2). 2B-UW: Giordano, Spediacci. |
