STEUBENVILLE – Franciscan Junior, Lara Plumlee, hit a triple and scored three RBIs on the final play of the first game to secure the win for the Lady Barons during Saturday's double-header against the Spartans of D'Youville College. The Lady Barons won that game 3-2, then fell 13-0 in the second game.  After the day's double-header, the Lady Barons' record stands at 2-14, and 1-7 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference.

The Lady Barons could not find any offensive rhythm in the first game, although their defense performed exceptionally well, only allowed two runs in seven innings.

“Our defense was really solid today,” Lady Barons coach Jen Biela remarked.  “We didn't make many errors, Shelbi [Linscomb] pitched very well for us, and our play in both the infield and outfield was some of our best of the season.”

Down 2-1 in the bottom of the seventh and final inning, Lara Plumlee stepped up to the plate with runners of second and third.  She hit a line drive triple into right centerfield, and got both of the runners home with a triple.  The hit won the game, and the Lady Barons took the field in celebration.

“On the last play, I just relaxed and took my time to visualize the hit,” Plumlee remarked.  “Everything slowed down for me, and that's what made me able to make the play.  Everything just worked really well...it was a fat pitch, just in the right spot over the plate.”

The Lady Barons struggled in the second game of the double-header, a 13-0 loss.  However, Coach Biela was exceedingly pleased with her team's performance on the whole, especially in the win.

“It was a great team effort today,” she said.  “We played well defensively all game, and offensively in the final inning.  We definitely came together as a team in that final inning to get those runs that we needed.  I told the girls that we needed to work together and rally back, and that's what they did – Lara got that big hit, and we got a big win out there today.”


The Lady Barons' next contest is this Tuesday at Frostburg at 3 p.m.