FREDERICK, Md.– On a day where a series elsewhere stood to shape the the race atop the MAC Commonwealth standings, Eastern University softball earned a dramatic sweep at Hood to pull into the top spot with four games remaining. After cruising to a five-inning 9-1 win in the opener, the Eagles needed an extra at bat and some defensive heroics to secure a 5-4 win in the nightcap.
The longest bus ride on either side of the MAC is between Eastern and Hood. The Eagles came into today's twin bill tied atop the league standings with York and up a game and a tiebreaker on Messiah. Those two schools were meeting at York, and a Messiah win in either game would give the Eagles a tiebreaker over York. The Falcons wound up sweeping the doubleheader and with Eastern beating Hood in both games are now alone in second place.
The Eagles secured the sweep with a two-out run and some big defense in the eighth. With the score tied at four,
Jania Long worked scoreless innings in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings, but Hood's Jordan Long was able to work around base-runners in each of those innings to keep the score tied.
The Eagles finally broke through after
Kelci Cost singled through the middle with one out.
Sophia Vento moved the runner along with a ground ball to the right side. Cost scored easily on a deep double by
Ainsley O'Donnell. It looked like the Eagles might double their lead when
Alyssa Binczak delivered a two out single, but a perfect throw cut down O'Donnell at the plate.
In the first at bat of the bottom of the inning, Hood's Hannah Cohen hit a ball to center that looked ticket for the land behind the fence. Cost tracked the ball perfectly and used every inch of her oversized glove to pull the ball back into play for a noisy out. The Blazers put a pair of runners on, but a good play at third by
Sydney Ostolaza cut down the lead runner for a second out and Long struck out the final hitter to secure the 23rd win of the year.
The Eagles jumped on Long early.
Kacie Noonan and
Tori Hook delivered back-to-back doubles for a 2-0 lead. That lead, however, was short-lived. The Blazers scored twice in the bottom of the first.
Bryn Clifford came on for Long with a pair of runners on and recorded the final two outs of the inning. Clifford wound up throwing two and two thirds innings in relief before handing the ball back to the starter to finish. In that stretch, Clifford picked up her first career hit in the middle of a two-run rally in the third.
Noonan led off the third with her first career home run.
Kellie O'Brien scored on a Dakota sacrifice fly for a 4-2 lead. The Blazers tied the game in the bottom of the fourth to set up the late drama.
With 23 wins in their first 27 games, the Eagles have reached a new program record for wins with at least six regular season games to play.
The Blazers jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a lead-off home run off
Danika Barthol in the bottom of the first. The Eagles, however, went ahead for good on a
Sydney Ostolaza two-run home run in the top of the second. Ostolaza drove in
Tori Hook, who doubled to start the inning.
Barthol allowed one base runner in each of the next four innings, but the rookie hurler was able to pitch to contact with her team piling on runs.
Jania Long drove in two in the top of the third, and Ostolaza drove in three runs with a double to center in the fourth. Binczak pushed the Eastern lead to eight with a two-run single in the top of the fifth.
Barthol struck out eight in her five-inning outing to pick up her 11th win in her last 11 starts. It is the first MAC Commonwealth game that Barthol has struck out fewer than ten hitters. With the run allowed, her season era jumped to .57.
The Eagles (23-4, 9-1) clinched a spot in the MAC Commonwealth tournament. The Eagles have home doubleheaders on the next two Saturdays against Albright and Stevenson. Three wins in those four games would secure the top seed in the league. Eastern will not play until the Albright doubleheader next Saturday.
