ANNVILLE, Pa. - A six-run second inning and another strong performance from Jania Long in the circle proved to be the difference on Thursday morning as Eastern Softball opened the 2023 MAC Commonwealth Tournament with an 8-0, run-rule victory over Stevenson at LVC Softball Park. The Eagles recorded 11 hits, three for extra bases, and Long kept a strong Mustang offense in check through five brilliant innings. With their 22nd win, the 2023 Eagles tied the program record for most wins in a single season. 

In another complete-game triumph, Long (10-5) scattered six hits and two walks while striking out three in her team-leading 10th win of the season. The sophomore also induced three flyouts and eight groundouts in the victory. 

The Eagles wasted little time putting runs on the board, scoring a pair in the first inning. After back-to-back singles from Alyssa Binczak and Mackenzie Laub, Long helped her own cause with a two-run double to center field, which gave the Eagles a 2-0 advantage. 

After Long worked around a leadoff walk to escape the top of the second inning unscathed, the Eastern offense went right back to work in the bottom half of the frame. Susana Perez led off the inning with a double, and after a Kelci Cost single, an Elena Iannuzzelli fielders choice, and a Binczak base hit, the Eagles had runners at second and third with one out. Laub delivered an two-run single down the third base line, and Tori Hook followed with a two-run double to right-center to put the Eagles ahead 6-0. Three batters later, Maeve Colligan delivered the Eagles' fourth two-run hit of the game, a single up the middle, to put Eastern ahead 8-0.  

Despite two hits for the Mustangs (18-16) to lead off the third, the Eagles were able to escape the jam on a groundout, a fielders choice, and a strikeout from Long. in the fourth, Long again worked around a leadoff walk to keep Stevenson off the scoreboard. 

The Mustangs best chance came in the bottom of the fifth with three straight singles to load the bases. However, the Eagles executed a rare 1-2-3 double play, and Long induced the game-ending groundout to secure the Eastern victory. 

Binczak finished a perfect 3-for-3 from the dish with two runs scored, while Laub and Long each finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored and a pair of RBIs. Hook and Colligan each finished with two runs batted in, while Perez and Cost each recorded one hit. 

Eastern (22-12) will be back in action at 2:00 pm against No. 1 seed Lebanon Valley.