LEESBURG, Fla. – Defensive struggles hindered the W&J softball team as the Presidents dropped a pair of games Tuesday afternoon at the PFX Spring Games in Florida.
Game One Recap – Sage Colleges 12, W&J 5
Poor defensive play plagued the Presidents against the Gators, as seven defensive miscues led to nine unearned runs for Sage. Ultimately, that was too much to overcome as Sage built an early 8-0 lead over W&J.
The Presidents tried to battle back throughout the contest, tallying three runs on three hits in the third inning.
Addy Helffrich (Sewickley, Pa./Avonworth) and
Kristen Fuertes (West Chester, Pa./West Chester) singled to lead off the inning.
After Sage retired the two hitters,
Taylor Andres (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) ripped a double to bring home a pair. The Presidents then tacked on another run when
Sarah Labbe (Belgrade, Maine/Messalonksee) reached on an error, cutting the deficit to 8-3.
Brooke Lapia (Oakdale, Pa./Chartiers Valley) launched the first home run of the season for the Red and Black, a solo shot in the sixth to bring the score to 8-4. However, Sage tacked on three more unearned runs in the seventh to pull away.
Rachel Johnson (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park) added an RBI single in the seventh to close out the scoring.
Johnson and Fuertes recorded two hits apiece to pace the offense in the setback. Fuertes took the loss in the circle, allowing eight runs, only three of which were earned in 2.2 innings. Andres worked the final 4.1 innings, recording five strikeouts and allowing no earned runs.
Game Two Recap – Newbury 9, W&J 5
Despite outhitting Newbury 15-11 in game two, W&J couldn't come through with a big hit, as the offense stranded 14 baserunners in the setback.
Trouble started for W&J in the bottom of the second inning, as Newbury tallied five unearned runs in the frame, including a grand slam. The Presidents answered with three runs in the top of the fourth, as Labbe tripled home
Brooklynn Miller (Martins Ferry, Ohio/Buckeye Local) and
Brooke Shuck (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon).
Dana Parker (Coraopolis, Pa./Montour) added an RBI single to score Labbe, cutting the deficit to 5-3.
Newbury countered back with four unanswered runs to push its lead to 9-3. W&J tallied two runs in the seventh but that's as close as they could get.
Shuck and Labbe led the offense with three hits apiece.
Brooke Stout (Berwick, Pa./Berwick Area Senior), Parker and Johnson also added multi-hit efforts in the loss.
With the pair of losses, W&J is now 3-3 overall for the season.
The Presidents return to action Wednesday March 13 with games against Millsaps College (9:15 a.m.) and the Catholic University of America (4 p.m.) at Hancock Park in Clermont, Fla.
