Fort Myers, FL - The Prairie Fire dropped a wild game against Nichols College and fell to UMass Dartmouth at the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic on Tuesday.

Nichols scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to overcome a three run deficit and post a 10-8 victory against Knox.  Besides the 18 runs scored, the teams combined for 26 hits and 11 errors.

The Prairie Fire, down 10-7 with one out in the bottom of the seventh, loaded the bases on three straight singles by junior Alyssa Bleidorn (Batavia, IL, Batavia), first-year Karli Shields (Naperville, IL, Neuqua Valley), and sophomore Claire Neri (Melrose Park, IL, West Leyden).  Bleidorn made it a two run deficit for Knox when she scored on an infield error.

The momentum shifted when junior Avecena Hollingsworth (Tigard, OR, Tigard) hit a pop up that the Nichols shortstop made a play on and Neri was called for runner’s interference.  The result was the second out of the inning.  The Bison (2-5) escaped the jam with a pop fly to second base for the third and final out of the game.

Knox tied Nichols at 1-1 with a run in the home half of the first inning when junior Amber Eisha (South Wilmington, IL, Gardner-South Wilmington) singled in Hollingsworth.  The Prairie Fire, with runners on first and second and nobody out, were unable to make it a big inning as the Bison retired the next three hitters in order.

Knox plated three runs with two outs in the second inning for a 4-1 lead.  The Prairie Fire loaded the bases and Eisha cleared them with a double to center field.

Nichols added two tallies in the top of the third to close the gap to 4-3.  Knox answered back in the bottom of the fourth inning with two runs that extended the lead to 6-3. Eisha again provided the big blow with a two out double that sent sophomore Rhiannon Neuville (Eugene, OR, South Eugene) and Hollingsworth home.

The Bison scored twice in the fifth to stay within a run of the Prairie Fire at 6-5.  Nichols retired the next three Knox hitters in order in the bottom of the fifth, setting up the five run sixth frame that put the Bison on top 10-6.

The Prairie Fire remained within striking distance of Nichols at 10-7 when Neuville singled to drive in Neri in the bottom of the sixth.

Eisha, who was 4-for-4 at the plate with a career-high six RBIs, took the loss in the circle for Knox.  Eisha tossed five innings and allowed six earned runs on 11 hits while striking out five.  Shields pitched the final two innings, surrendering one run on two hits.  She walked two and struck out one.

Both teams had 13 hits.  Knox was charged with seven errors and Nichols had four.

Neuville added three hits, an RBI, and two runs scored for the Prairie Fire.  Hollingsworth had two hits and scored three runs, and Neri contributed two hits and a run scored.

Knox lost its second game of the day to the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth 7-3.

The Corsairs (3-3) scored five runs in the fourth inning against the Prairie Fire.  UM-D plated a run in the first for a 1-0 lead.  Knox responded with two runs with two outs in the top of the second inning for a 2-1 advantage. 

Neri should have been the third out, but she alertly reached first base on a dropped third strike to keep the inning alive for the Prairie Fire.  Junior Anna Lemen (Cincinnati, OH, Cincinnati Country Day) walked and then moved to second on a passed ball that sent Neri to third base.  Yet another passed ball scored Neri to tie the game at 1-1 and allowed Lemen to go to third.  Hollingsworth singled home Lemen for a 2-1 Knox lead before a ground out ended the inning.

UMass-Dartmouth tied the contest at 2-2 with a run in the bottom of the third.  

The Prairie Fire regained the lead at 3-2 in the top of the fourth inning.  Neri singled with one out, went to second base on a wild pitch and came around to score on another RBI hit by Hollingsworth.

The Corsairs did their damage in the bottom of the fourth inning.  The first five batters got on base for UM-D, and all five scored before Eisha recorded the third out of the frame with a strike out.

Lemen started the game pitching for Knox (0-4).  She threw three innings and gave up two earned runs and four hits.  Eisha, who was charged with the loss, also pitched three innings and allowed five runs, four earned, and five hits with one walk and two strike outs.

Hollingsworth was 2-for-4 at the plate with two runs batted in.  Neri also had two hits and scored two froms for the Prairie Fire.

Information about the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic, including schedules and scores, can be found online at http://www.leeparks.org/cusic/

Knox plays the University of Wisconsin-Oskhosh in the first of two games on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. (EST)  The Prairie Fire's second contest is against NYU Poly at 4:00 p.m. (EST)  The start times for both games were pushed back because of rain in the area earlier Wednesday.

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