ST.DAVIDS, Pa.- Senior shortstop Maggie McGowan hit a
three-run home run in the third inning of game one to spark Eastern
University Softball to its second straight doubleheader sweep in Freedom
Conference play. McGowan's blast accounted for all three runs in the
3-1 game one win, Emily Houk and Katelyn Donald each had four RBIs in a
14-5 win in the nightcap.
The win puts the Eagles (18-11-1, 7-3
Freedom) in a three-way tie for second with four games remaining on the
league schedule. Any combination of an Eastern win or FDU loss over the
final four games will put the Eagles, who were picked last in the
preseason poll, into the playoffs.
Janelle Fair started game one
in the circle. The junior standout gave up a pair of hits in the first
inning, but struck out the final two batters of the inning to keep the
visiting Devils off the scoreboard. Fair gave up five hits and a single
earned run to earn her 12th win against only four defeats on the season.
She struck out seven and walked two.
Sam Terenzoni led off the
the Eastern third with a walk. The senior catcher made it to third with
two outs and was joined by Fair who also drew a walk. McGowan owns the
Eastern career record for home runs, but she had only a single early
season bomb this year. The senior cracked a no-doubter for her 19th
career round-tripper to put the Eagles up 3-0.
The Devils scored
their only run of the opener in the top of the fourth, and the damage
could have been worse, but Fair struck out the final batter with the
bases loaded. FDU had only three more base-runners the rest of the way.
While
game one was a cleanly played pitchers' duel. Game two was a little bit
of a mess from the start. Regardless, the Eagles showed an ability to
adapt to a different game when, after the Devils scored three first-inning runs, they rallied with five in the bottom of the inning. Jaime
Schwartz delivered a bases-loaded single to plate one run, and Houk
cracked another single to score two more. Donald, batting in the ninth
spot in the order delivered her first of two hits for the contest to
plate two more runs.
The Devils scored twice more to tie the game
at 5-5, but the Eastern offense heaped three hits on top of three FDU
errors to plate five more runs in the second inning. Donald again
delivered a two-RBI hit to key the inning.
Fair took over McGowan
in the circle to start the third inning, and the junior threw three
scoreless frames to secure her school-record 14th win of the year. With
29 career victories, Fair is closing in on the career mark of 33. The
Eagles, however, are more concerned with securing an opportunity to play
for a Freedom Conference Championship than with individual accolades.
With
the benefit of a single tally in the third and three more in the
fourth, the Eagles were able to win in five innings to make that goal
more of a possibility. Eastern has doubleheaders remaining with
Manhattanville and Misericordia. One win will get the Eagles into the
post-season, and then they will begin to play for seeding. Misericordia
is already in the playoffs with an 8-2 record, and Manhattanville is
tied with Eastern and King's with a 7-3 mark.
Game 1 Box
Game 2 Box
