WASHINGTON, Pa. – Behind a pair of strong pitching performances, the Washington & Jefferson College softball team split a Presidents' Athletic Conference doubleheader with Westminster College on Senior Day Saturday at Brooks Park.
The split moves W&J to 14-14 overall and 5-3 in PAC play, while Westminster moves to 10-16 overall and 3-7 in league games.
Game One Recap – Westminster 2, W&J 1 (10 Innings)
The seniors got W&J off to a fast start in game one, as
Rachel Johnson (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park) led off the bottom of the first with a triple to deep right field. The very next batter
Taylor Andres (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) brought Johnson home with a sacrifice fly to five W&J a 1-0 lead.
The strong pitching of Andres kept Westminster at bay for the next several innings, as the Titans did not record a hit until the top of the fifth. With two outs in that frame, Andres surrendered a two-out double. She would respond to retire the next batter and also escaped the sixth inning unscathed to hold onto the 1-0 lead.
After two quick outs in the seventh, W&J appeared poised to post its first shutout of the season. However, Westminster took advantage of a W&J error that kept the game alive. After the Titans runner moved up to second base on a successful steal attempt, the Titans doubled to left to tie the score.
Westminster would add the eventual game-winning run on a sacrifice fly in the top of the 10th inning. Not to be overshadowed by Andres in the pitcher's duel, Madison Brown retired the final 15 Presidents to earn the victory.
Andres tossed 10.0 strong innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on eight hits. The senior struck out six and issued no walks in the game.
Johnson collected three of the four W&J hits, as she finished a home run shy of hitting for the cycle. Johnson added a run scored and a stolen base in the game.
Game Two Recap – W&J 2, Westminster 1
Kristen Fuertes (West Chester, Pa./West Chester) of W&J and Krystyna Burdelski from Westminster continued the theme of strong pitching in the nightcap.
After the Titans recorded an RBI single in the top of the first inning of game two, Fuertes settled things down and kept the deficit at 1-0 into the fourth inning.
W&J put together a rally in the bottom of the fourth inning to take the lead. Johnson sparked the Presidents with a leadoff double. After a successful sacrifice bunt by
Sarah Labbe (Belgrade, Maine/Messalonksee) advanced Johnson to third base,
Laura Ryder (Sewickley, Pa./North Allegheny) drilled a RBI single to score Johnson.
A little later in the inning,
Brooke Stout (Berwick, Pa./Berwick Area Senior) singled home
Brooke Lapia (Oakdale, Pa./Chartiers Valley) to give the Presidents a 2-1 lead.
Fuertes made that lead stand up as she nailed down the victory for the Presidents. The junior allowed one run on five hits during a complete game effort. Fuertes struck out one and walked one during 7.0 innings of work.
Johnson and Stout led the offense in game two with two hits each. Johnson finishes the week by going 9-for-13 (.692) at the plate to raise her batting average to a team-best .411 this season.
W&J travels to Geneva College for another important PAC doubleheader on Tuesday, April 16. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
