ST. DAVIDS, Pa.- Eastern University Softball scored five
runs in its last two at bats to grab a 7-5 win in the nightcap to
salvage a split in a non-league doubleheader with Muhlenberg. After
scuffling to only five hits in an 8-1 loss in the opener, seven
different Eastern players recorded hits as the the Eagles pounded out 15
hits for the win.
The Eagles (13-11-1) fell in hole early in the
opener as Muhlenberg star Kelly Kline pounded a 3-2 pitch over the path
beyond the center field fence for a three-run homer, her 10th
round-tripper of the season. That would prove to be a theme for game
one, as the visiting Mules pounded out four long-balls on the way to the
8-1 win.
The Eagles finally scratched for a single tally in the
seventh. Sam Terenzoni, who has caught every inning of the season for
the Eagles, delivered an RBI double. Kelsey Jones (7-6) took the win in
the opener for the guests.
With Janelle Fair (8-4) taking the loss
in the opener, the responsibility for the rest of the day fell to
Maggie McGowan. The senior allowed only a single base-runner in the
first two innings, and she helped her own cause with an RBI double in
the bottom of the first.
Kline regained nemesis status in the
third with a bases-clearing 2-out double in the third to put the Mules
up 3-1. Her six RBIs on three hits in the doubleheader lifted her season
RBI total to 40.
Eastern scratched out a single run on four hits
in the bottom of the inning to cut the deficit to 3-2. Tori Jacobson,
who returned to the line-up for the first time in nearly two weeks,
delivered the RBI single. Muhlenberg, however, grabbed the run right
back in the top of the fourth.
The Eagles grabbed their first lead
of the afternoon in the bottom of the fifth. Jacobson again delivered an
RBI single and Terenzoni delivered a two-run single to plate Emily Houk
and Lori Wileczek, who had pinch run for Jacobson.
The Mules
tied the contest with a single tally in the top of the sixth to give the
Eagle another chance to rally. Fair scalded a one-out double down the
left-field line to start the rally. After McGowan went down on strikes,
Jaime Schwartz drove a long single off the fence in left-center to put
the Eagles up. After Sam Fichter pinch-ran and took second on a wild
pitch, Houk scalded a line-drive back to the left-center field fence for
what would prove to be a very important RBI double.
After a
routine ground-out to start the seventh, McGowan (5-7) got Kline to roll
an outside pitch to third base. Schwartz's throw sailed, and Kline took
second. McGowan induced a weak ground ball back to the circle for the
second out of the inning.
The next Muhlenberg batter topped a
ground ball that started a foot foul and bounced back into fair
territory for a swinging bunt RBI single that made the game very
interesting. McGowan finally shut the door after the next batter singled
to center field with a nice grab of a ground ball back at her.
The
Eagles hope to ride the momentum of the game two-win when they travel
to Center Valley for a critical league doubleheader at DeSales on
Thursday afternoon.
Game 1 Box
Game 2 Box
