Cruver blanks Blue Jays; Seahawks split in Fla.

CLERMONT, Fla. - Junior pitcher Jen Cruver (North Haven, Conn.) hurled a 3-hit 1-0 shutout against St. Joseph College of Connecticut as Salve Regina University softball split its two games in Florida today, dropping the nightcap 5-0 to University of Scranton.

Cruver was terrific in the opener, striking out six over seven shutout innings to earn her second win of the spring. Junior Jillian Quintana (Denver, Colo.) was 1-for-3 with a key double which set up the eventual winning run, while senior Kristen Parolise (Hamden, Conn.) collected the only RBI of the contest.

Still scoreless in the top of the fourth, the Seahawks kept the Blue Jays off the board when right fielder Nikki Hirschbeck (Trumbull, Conn.) hit shorstop Ali Muehlbronner (Glenside, Pa.) with the cut-off, which she relayed home to cut down SJC's Ashley Gall at the plate as she attempted to complete an inside the park home run.

The game remained scoreless into the bottom of the sixth when Quintana got things going with a leadoff double. Sophomore Bethany Snow (Thomaston, Maine) pinch-ran for Quintana and moved to third on a base hit to right center by junior Megan Jakiela (Meride, Conn.), setting up a first-and-third situation with no outs. Parolise then brought Snow home for the game's only run with a sacrifice fly to right, propeling the Seahawks to a 1-0 win.

Sophomore Marissa Simpson (Brimfield, Mass.) led the Seahawk offense in game two, finishing 2-for-3 with a stolen base, while freshman Laura Anne Dinan (Monterey, Mass.) and Quintana each had one hit apiece.

The Royals scored a pair of runs in both the second and third innings, including a two-run homer by Tia Dimou and a two-run single by Ashley Vosilla, to build a 4-0 advantage.

Scranton added another run in the bottom of the fifth on a bases loaded walk by McHenry to cap the scoring in the 5-0 final.