VIERA WEST, Fla. — A pinch-hit walk-off single from Delaney Monroe lifted Lawrence Tech to a 2-1 extra-inning win over the University of Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday morning in the opener of a spring break doubleheader at the Space Coast Complex.
With the international tiebreaker runner on second in the bottom of the eighth, Monroe delivered off the bench, lining a single to score Lauren Miller and end the game. The hit capped a tight pitching duel that had been tied since the third inning.
Natilee Pridemore turned in a dominant performance in the circle for the Blue Devils, tossing a complete-game four-hitter across eight innings. The right-hander allowed just one run, struck out five, and did not issue a walk while throwing only 82 pitches.
Fort Lauderdale took a 1-0 lead in the third on a sacrifice groundout by J. Heimberger that scored B. Kling. Lawrence Tech answered in the bottom half of the inning when Miller drove in Ashley Stafford with an RBI single to even the score at 1-1.
Both pitchers controlled the game from there until extras. Fort Lauderdale starter A. Glem allowed seven hits and two runs while striking out five over 7.1 innings, but Monroe's walk-off hit ultimately decided the game. Miller finished with an RBI while Kling led Fort Lauderdale with two hits.
In game two, Lawrence Tech fell to Nelson University (AZ) 6-1.
Nelson used a three-run second inning to build an early lead and added three more runs in the sixth to pull away. The Blue Devils managed five hits but were hindered by four defensive errors while Nelson totaled 11 hits and left 11 runners on base.
Lawrence Tech scored its lone run in the sixth when Brenna Crittenden delivered a two-out RBI double to score Lauren Miller and cut the deficit to 6-1. Nelson pitcher Kelly Katalb earned the win, allowing one run on four hits with four strikeouts over six innings.
Zoey Markey led the Blue Devils with two hits, while Crittenden recorded the team's lone RBI and extra-base hit. Alyssa Bloomfield also added a double, but Lawrence Tech was unable to generate enough offense to overcome the early deficit as the team continued its spring break schedule in Florida.
