ST. DAVIDS, Pa. - In a doubleheader featuring two top-25 teams on Wednesday afternoon, No. 25 Eastern came away with a 4-2 win over No. 16 Rowan in game one at the EU Softball Field.
Sydney Ostolaza and
Dakota Owen recorded a pair of clutch hits in the sixth inning, and first-year
Emily Trzonkowski remained undefeated after another complete game performance.
Trzonkowski, despite walking five batters, allowed just two runs, striking out five in her fourth complete game of her rookie season. She escaped an early jam in the first inning, and after giving up a run in the second, allowed just four hits over her final five innings of work.
After Trzonkowski escaped the first inning unscathed, the Eagles (12-4) struck first in the bottom half of the inning.
Ainsley O'Donnell and
Maura Yoos led off the inning with singles, and with two outs, Yoos scored her 18th run of the year on a wild pitch to put the Eagles up 1-0.
Rowan (15-5) tied it up at 1-1 on an RBI, two-out double from Zoey Rogers in the second inning, but the Eagles responded again in their half of the second. With two outs, after back-to-back singles from Owen and
Hailey Burke, O'Donnell hit an RBI single on the first pitch she saw, scoring Burke to put the Eagles ahead 2-1.
The Profs' best chance to tie the game came in the fourth inning, but the defense of
Maryanna Nagle kept Rowan off the scoreboard. After a Rogers single through the left side, Lauren Foltz rounded third looking to score. Nagle, however, made a perfect throw, and Ostolaza applied the tag before Foltz crossed home plate for the third out of the inning, keeping the Eagles ahead.
The Eagles scored two crucial insurance runs in the sixth. Ostolaza doubled home
Mackenzie Laub with one out, and Owen followed with an RBI single up the middle to score
Kellie O'Brien with two out, pushing Eastern's advantage to 4-1. The Profs were able to get one run back in the seventh, but would not draw any closer. O'Donnell and Owen each finished with two hits and an RBI, while Yoos, Nagle, Laub, Ostolaza, and Burke each finished with a hit in the game one victory.
The Profs rebounded with an 8-0, six-inning win in game two. Rowan scored at least one run in five of the game's six innings. The Eagles only finished with three hits, all singles, against Rowan ace Bethanne Doderer.
Eastern will be back home on Saturday for a MAC Commonwealth doubleheader against Albright College. First pitch is set for 1:00 pm.
