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Croney-ism works

FAU catcher Kerri Croney delivered a couple of big hits as the Owls knocked off Troy in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference softball tournament.

Originally published on 5/6/2009

by Chuck King

Seventh seeded Florida Atlantic broke open a tight game with three runs in the sixth and held on to defeat No. 2 seed Troy 6-4 in the opening round of the Sun Belt Conference softball tournament, which began Wednesday in Denton, Texas.

The Owls had already pushed across a run to tie the score when catcher Kerri Croney’s single down the right field line brought in two more, giving FAU a 5-3 lead.

“I just saw a pitch outside and went with it,” said Croney, who also launched a solo home run in the fifth. “It hit right next to the line. It could have gone either way.”

The Owls added a run in the seventh on Caitlyn Bliss’ RBI single to complete their scoring.

Winners of two of the three regular season games, Troy did not go quietly in its final at-bat. The Trojans brought the potential winning run to plate with two outs in the seventh inning. After Owls’ pitcher Kat Stauffer allowed a run to score with a wild pitch, she induced a Sarah Shields ground out to third to end the game.

“It got very dicey,” FAU coach Joan Joyce said. “Kat got a little nervous. I was about having a heart attack.”

Stauffer allowed an earned run on two hits in three innings to improve her record to 8-4.

FAU faces No 6 seed South Alabama on Thursday in the winner’s bracket. The Jaguars defeated Western Kentucky 6-1 in the game preceding the Owls’ win. The Owls and the Jaguars split their two regular season games.

GameBrowser: FAU 6, Troy 4

Owl-star performance: Kerri Croney, who entered the game hitting .200, went 2-for-3 with her second home run of the season and three RBIs.

Stat download: 2 – errors committed by Troy, leading to two unearned runs. FAU didn’t commit an error.

Instant message: “Every game is going to be tough but if we come out with the same intensity we had today, we have a good chance to win the game.”