WASHINGTON, Pa. -- Needing a pair of wins to keep its conference tournament hopes alive, the Washington & Jefferson College softball team did what it needed to do Thursday as the home team collected a sweep over Franciscan University of Steubenville in a Presidents' Athletic Conference doubleheader at Brooks Park. W&J used a three-run sixth inning to claim a 4-2 win in game one before slugging its way to a 9-1 six-inning victory in game two.
Kasey Scears and
Olivia Dewick (Pittsburgh, Pa./Keystone Oaks) combined to account for seven hits, five RBI and six runs scored in the sweep.
Game One - W&J 4, Franciscan 2
After a pair of scoreless innings, Franciscan jumped out to a 2-0 lead with single runs in the top of the third and fourth innings. The Presidents manufactured a run back in the bottom of the fourth inning. Scears led off with a double down the right field line. Scears moved to third on a sac bunt by
Mackenzie Boyd (Beaver, Pa./Beaver) and scored on a sac fly by Dewick.
W&J entered the bottom of the sixth inning before rallying for the victory.
Sarah Labbe (Belgrade, Maine/Messalonksee) led off and reached base on a hit by pitch. Scears followed with a single to move Labbe to second. Boyd once again did her job, sacrificing both runners up a base to set the stage for Dewick. The senior first baseman belted an 0-2 pitch deep to left field, scoring Labbe and Scears to give W&J a 3-2 lead. Dewick then stole third base and came around to score when the catcher's throw went into the outfield.
Franciscan threatened to even the score in the top of the seventh. The Barons opened the inning with a double and a bunt single to put two runners on base. However, W&J starter
Alisha Kulka (Hanover, Pa. / South Western) beared down and retired the next three hitters to finish off the victory.
Scears finished game one with a 3-for-3 effort at the plate. Scears also scored a pair of runs. Dewick had a hand in all four runs, as she finished with three RBI and scored the fourth run.
Kulka went the distance in the circle to improve her record to 3-3. The senior allowed two runs (one earned) on eight hits. Kulka struck out three and walked just one.
Game Two - W&J 9, Franciscan 1
Sydney Petrowski (Lemont Furnace, Pa. / Connellsville) went the distance in game two to pick up the victory. He worked all six innings and gave up just one run on six hits. Petrowski improved her season record to 4-3.
Petrowski got plenty of offensive support as W&J pushed across nine runs on 10 hits to complete the sweep.
W&J wasted little time as they pushed across three runs on three hits in the opening inning. Dewick drove home
Aliya Schraeder (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette) and Labbe to open a 2-0 lead.
Ashleigh Gerber (Woodstock, Md./Marriots Ridge) followed with an RBI single that plated Scears.
A sac fly by Eckenrode scored Petrowski to extend the W&J lead to 4-0 after four innings.
After Franciscan got on the board in the top of the fifth, the Presidents threatened to end the game early with four runs on three hits in the bottom half of the inning. The big hit of the inning came from Eckenrode, who launched a two-run double that shorthopped the fence in left field.
Scears sent everyone home early in the bottom of the sixth. The junior catcher led off the inning with a solo home run over the left field fence that inflicted the mercy rule victory at 9-1.
Boyd, Scears and Schraeder finished with two hits apiece in game two. Scears scored three runs while Eckenrode drove in three.
W&J (6-8 PAC, 10-12 overall) travels to Saint Vincent (7-7 PAC, 18-8 overall) on Friday, April 29 for another key PAC doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
