OWINGS MILLS, Md. - On the heels of a heartbreaking defeat in game one, a complete-game effort from
Jania Long and a 17-hit explosion from the offense carried Eastern Softball to a crucial 12-3, run-rule triumph in game two of its MAC Commonwealth doubleheader with Stevenson on Sunday afternoon. Eastern had six players finish with two or more hits, and another seven recorded one or more RBIs. With the victory, the Eagles surpassed last year's win total and currently sit at 19 wins heading into the final week of the regular season.
After a one-out single from
Mackenzie Laub in the top of the first inning,
Tori Hook got the scoring with an RBI double to left field to put the Eagles ahead 1-0. Long scored Hook on an RBI single, and
Maeve Colligan followed with a sacrifice fly to center field to increase the Eastern advantage to 3-0.
Long made quick work of the Mustangs (18-13, 10-4) in the bottom half of the frame, and the Eagles' offense went right back to work in the second, scoring four runs with two outs. Hook drove home Laub and
Elena Iannuzzelli with a base-hit to center field, and Long followed with another RBI single to left field to make it 6-0 in favor of Eastern. Long later scored to increase the Eagles' lead to 7-0.
Stevenson scored a pair of unearned runs with one out in the bottom of the second, but Eastern limited the damage, taking a 7-2 advantage into the top of the third. The Eagles pushed four more runs across in the inning to take an 11-2 lead. Iannuzzelli started the scoring with a two-run single to right field,
Alyssa Binczak followed with an RBI groundout, and Laub capped off the run with an RBI base hit.
Sami Britton plated Eastern's 12th run of the contest with a sacrifice fly to left field, and Long escaped a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the fifth frame to secure the run-rule victory.
Long (7-4) earned her seventh win of the season with a complete-game performance. In five innings, the sophomore allowed just five hits and three runs, all unearned, while striking out four batters. Furthemore, Long induced seven flyouts and three groundouts. Laub, Took, and Long combined for nine hits, seven runs scored, and six RBIs in the game two victory, while Britton, Colligan, and Iannuzzelli combined for six hits, two scored, and four RBIs.
In a wild, back-and-forth affair in the opener, Eastern squandered leads of 3-0 early and 10-7 late, and a four-run sixth proved to the difference in an eventual 11-10 loss. All four runs for the Mustangs came with two outs in the inning.
RBI singles from Long and Britton put the Eagles ahead 3-0 after the top of the first frame, but the Mustangs hit back with four runs in a row to grab a 4-3 advantage. Eastern tied the game with an RBI groundout from Britton in the top of the third, but the Mustangs regained a three-run lead in the bottom half of the inning.
Eastern struck for four runs in the fourth on a Stevenson fielding error and a two-run single from Long. Binczak added to the Eagles lead with an RBI double in the fifth. However, the Mustangs found two-out magic in the sixth frame with three two-out knocks.
Long also had a strong offensive performance in game one, finishing 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored and three RBIs. Binczak, Laub, Britton, and Iannuzzelli combined for eight hits, three runs scored, and five RBIs. For the series, the Eagles finished with 31 hits.
Eastern will be home in St. Davids for its final two regular season doubleheaders. The Eagles (19-10, 7-5) will host Alvernia on Wednesday beginning at 3:00 pm.
