GROVE CITY, Pa. – The Washington & Jefferson College softball team opened Presidents' Athletic Conference play by earning a road split in a doubleheader with Grove City College.
The contest featured two very different results for the Presidents, who fell 10-2 in five innings in the opener before bouncing back to claim a 12-2 victory over the Wolverines in an abbreviated five-inning contest.
Game One Recap – Grove City 10, W&J 2 (Five Innings)
W&J collected two-out singles in each of the first four innings but could not scratch out a run. The game remained scoreless until the Wolverines exploded for eight runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Grove City tallied six hits and took advantage of two defensive miscues in the inning by W&J. Six of the eight runs in the fourth inning were unearned.
Down to its final out and in danger of seeing the game end early via the mercy rule in the fifth inning,
Dana Parker (Coraopolis, Pa./Montour) drew a walk then
Alisha Kulka (Hanover, Pa./South Western) singled to center. The next two Presidents reached base on Grove City errors, helping the Red and Black score a pair of runs to cut the deficit to 8-2.
However, the host Wolverines tallied two more runs in the bottom of the frame to finish off a 10-2 game one victory. Defense hindered W&J in the opener, as the visitors committed four errors and only three of the 10 runs scored by Grove City were earned.
Taylor Andres (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) and
Brooke Lapia (Oakdale, Pa./Chartiers Valley) each went 2-for-2 at the plate in the opener to pace the offense.
Andres suffered the loss in the circle, allowing eight runs (only two earned) in 3.2 innings. The senior struck out five and walked four.
Game Two Recap – W&J 12, Grove City 2 (Five Innings)
The Presidents avenged the game one loss by claiming their own mercy rule win in game two. W&J busted out with 12 runs on 11 hits during the victory, which included a nine-run fifth inning to secure the win over the Wolverines.
In the top of the second inning,
Brooke Stout (Berwick, Pa./Berwick Area Senior) led off with a triple before scoring on a sacrifice fly to center field by
Laura Ryder (Sewickley, Pa./North Allegheny) to give W&J a 1-0 lead.
The Presidents tacked on two more runs in the third when
Kristen Fuertes (West Chester, Pa./West Chester) singled and scored when
Rachel Johnson (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park) laced an RBI triple to right center. Andres would follow with an RBI single to plate Johnson, extending the advantage to 3-0.
Grove City countered with a run each in the third and fourth innings to cut the deficit to 3-2. However, W&J put the game away with an offensive explosion in the top of the fifth inning. The Presidents pushed nine runs across on five hits while also taking advantage of three Wolverine errors in the inning.
Stout, Ryder, Fuertes, Kulka and Andres all recorded run-scoring hits in the inning. Stout led the way with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate. Ryder, Fuertes and Andres recorded two hits and two RBI apiece for the Presidents.
Fuertes improved her record to 5-5 in the circle. The junior worked 5.0 innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits. Fuertes struck out one and walked one.
W&J moves to 8-12 overall and 1-1 in PAC play, while Grove City sits at 7-6 and 1-1 in the league.
The Presidents return to action tomorrow (Wednesday) with a non-conference doubleheader with Pitt-Greensburg at Brooks Park. Start time is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
