ST. DAVIDS, Pa. - Returning to its home turf on Tuesday afternoon, Eastern Softball remained perfect at the EU Softball Field with a pair of wins over Haverford College. The Eagles scored five runs in the first inning of game one and never looked back in a 12-3, mercy-rule triumph, before shutting out the Fords, 6-0, in game two. The victories marked the first two for the Eagles over Haverford since 2013.
The Eagles were excellent at the dish all afternoon, recording 23 hits over the course of the two contests. Seven of those knocks went for extra bases.
Jania Long was the catalyst for the Eastern offense, finishing 4-for-6 in the two games with a pair of home runs, three runs scored, and seven RBIs.
Sydney Ostolaza went 3-for-5 at the dish with two runs scored, a double, and two RBIs, while
Tori Hook also finished 3-for-5 with three runs scored and two runs batted in. First-year outfielder
Ainsley O'Donnell also recorded a strong day at the plate, collecting five hits in seven at-bats.
Eastern came out swinging in game one, beginning the contest with three straight hits and two early runs. After O'Donnell led off the first contest with a single,
Alyssa Binczak followed with a double, putting runners on second and third. Ostolaza came through with an opposite field two-bagger, plating both O'Donnell and Binczak to put the Eagles ahead 2-0.
Long scored Ostolaza on Eastern's third double of the inning to make it 3-0, and
Kelci Cost capped off the inning with a two-run single to center field, increasing the Eagles' advantage to 5-0.
Eastern added three runs in the second on an RBI for Binczak on a Rosemont fielding error and back-to-back singles for Hook and Long. After Haverford pushed one run across in the third, O'Donnell answered with an RBI groundout in the home half for a 9-1 Eastern lead.
The Fords (6-11) scored two more in the four to trim their deficit to six, but a
Maeve Colligan two-run double to center field and a Cost sacrifice fly, her third RBI of the contest, allowed Eastern to secure the run-rule victory.
Barthol (7-1) continued her remarkable first-year campaign, recording her seventh win. In three innings, the Emmaus product gave up only two hits and one earned run while striking out two.
After escaping a first-inning jam in the circle, Long used one swing of the bat to give the Eagles a lead they would not relinquish. On a 2-0 count, the Deptford, N.J. native launched a 2-run bomb, her second, over the left field wall to put the Eagles ahead 2-0. Long repeated the feat in the third inning, crushing her third round tripper over the same exact same spot of the left field fence to increase Eastern's advantage to 5-0 and put the Eagles securely in the drivers' seat.
Hook got in on the scoring action in the bottom of the fourth inning. After O'Donnell, Binczak, and Ostolaza loaded the bases on a pair of singles and a walk, the junior first basemen punched a single through the left side to make it 6-0 Eastern. O'Donnell finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored in game two, while Ostolaza and Hook each recorded a pair of hits.
Along with her offensive masterclass, Long (6-1) was equally as efficient in the circle, allowing no runs and just five hits with one strikeout in five innings of work.
Regina Bangcoro was perfect in relief with two scoreless innings, recording a strikeout, one flyout, and four groundouts.
Eastern (16-3) returns to the EU Softball Field on Saturday for a massive MAC Commonwealth showdown against the Messiah Falcons. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 pm.
