MINNEOLA, Fla. (March 10) -- The W&J softball team picked up a pair of wins during Sunday's action at the PFX Spring Games in Florida.
The Presidents beat Finlandia 4-1 in game one before earning a 13-10 comeback victory over Keene State in the nightcap. The pair of wins moves W&J to 3-1 overall.
Game One Recap – W&J 4, Finlandia 1
Senior pitcher
Taylor Andres (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) helped guide the Presidents to the game one win over the Lions. Andres tossed a complete game, allowing just one run on six hits during 7.0 innings of work. The right hander struck out four and walked two as she worked through a 129 pitch effort.
Andres led the Presidents at the plate as well, recording a 3-for-4 effort with the bat.
Brooke Stout (Berwick, Pa./Berwick Area Senior) continued her strong start to her freshman campaign, going 3-for-4 at the plate with an RBI and run scored.
Brooke Shuck (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon) and
Brooke McCleester (Johnstown, Pa./Conemaugh Valley) recorded two hits apiece against the Lions as well.
With the game tied at 1-1,
Brooke Lapia (Oakdale, Pa./Chartiers Valley) gave W&J the lead for good when she singled home Stout in the fifth. The Presidents tacked on an insurance run in both the sixth and seventh innings. After tallying an unearned run in the sixth on an errant throw by Lions, W&J added its final score of the evening when
Sarah Labbe (Belgrade, Maine/Messalonksee) executed a perfect bunt single to bring home McCleester.
W&J tallied season-high 13 hits in the victory over Finlandia.
Game Two Recap - W&J 13, Keene State 10
The nightcap featured strong offensive performances by both squads. The two teams combined to total 23 runs on 23 hits.
Rachel Johnson (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park) sparked the Presidents with a three-hit effort, scoring all four times she reached base in the game. McCleester, Stout and
Kristen Fuertes (West Chester, Pa./West Chester) tallied two hits each for W&J in the win over the Owls. Stout and McCleester combined for seven RBI in the 3-4 spots of the lineup.
After tallying the initial run of the contest, Keene State put up six runs in the second inning to take a five-run advantage. W&J would fight back, using a pair of walks to start a rally in the bottom of the third. McCleester provided the big hit, a two-run triple, scoring
Lexie Creyer (Blandon, Pa./Fleetwood) and Johnson. Stout would score McCleester with an RBI single, making the deficit 6-4.
KSU would answer with a run in the fourth to take a 7-4 edge. However, in the bottom half of the frame, W&J's offense exploded for seven runs on six hits, while also taking advantage of two errors to build an 11-7 advantage. McCleester, Stout, Labbe and Fuertes all recorded RBI hits in the inning.
Stout would add a sacrifice fly in the fifth and Johnson would tack on an RBI single in the sixth as the Presidents earned a hard fought 13-10 victory.
Fuertes picked up the win in relief, working 5.1 innings in the circle. The win moves the junior to 2-0 for the season.
The Presidents have Monday off before returning to action with games against Sage (12 p.m.) and Newbury College (2:15 p.m.). The pair of contests will be played at the Sleepy Hollow Complex in Leesburg, Fla.
