ST. DAVIDS, Pa. - After a week of rain and inclement weather, Eastern Softball finally returned to action on a beautiful day for softball on Tuesday in its home opener at the EU Softball Field. First-year pitcher Danika Barthol pitched another gem in her home debut, and the Eastern offense scored four runs in the third and three runs in the fourth to beat Cabrini 7-1 in the final meeting between the two programs.

In her fourth start of the young season, the Emmaus product was brilliant in her four innings of work, allowing just one hit, a single, while striking out six. Barthol (2-1) had great command of her riseball, fooling Cabrini batters throughout the course of the afternoon. Barthol currently boasts a remarkable 0.45 ERA, and has allowed just one earned run and eight hits in 20 innings of work. She also leads the Eagles' pitching staff with 17 strikeouts. Jania Long and Hailey Krichten were equally as effective in relief, combining to allow just two hits and one earned run in the final three innings.

At the dish, sophomore second baseman Alyssa Binczak continued her strong start to the season with a 2-for-2 performance, scoring and driving in a pair of runs. First-year outfielder Ainsley O'Donnell went 2-for-3 with a double, while Ostolaza finished with an RBI double. Mackenzie Laub, Sophia Vento, Sophie Rollins, and Elena Iannuzzelli also finished with one hit apiece.

Barthol cruised through the first three innings, striking out two in the first inning before striking out the side in the third. After that, the Eastern offense woke up in the bottom half of the frame. O'Donnell and Binczak began the rally with back-to-back singles, before Tori Hook took a hit on the foot to load the bases with one out. Senior catcher Susana Perez worked a bases-loaded walk to score Eastern's first run. Binczak and Kellie O'Brien both scored on a pair of Cabrini wild pitches, and a throwing error scored Faith Zanetich to put the Eagles ahead 4-0.

Iannuzzelli singled and O'Donnell doubled to deep right center to put two runners on to start the fourth, and Binczak scored both with a single to increase Eastern's advantage to 6-0. Ostolaza followed with a double to left field, scoring Binczak for her team-leading ninth RBI of the season. Long and Krichten shut the door the rest of the way to secure Eastern's seventh of the season.

Eastern (7-2) will be back in action on Wednesday afternoon for a doubleheader with Neumann. First pitch at the EU Softball Field is scheduled for 3:00 pm.