CLERMONT, Fla. -- The Washington & Jefferson College softball team split its games Monday at the PFX Spring Games in Central Florida. The Presidents downed the College of Old Westbury by a 5-3 score to open the day before falling by an 8-0 margin to St. Catherine in the second game of the day.
The win in the opener gave W&J a 5-0 record, which represents its best start to a season in its program history, which dates back to its first season in 1986.
W&J 5, Old Westbury 3
Jordan Hinz (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial) recorded a career-high eight strikeouts in the opener. She allowed three runs on six hits. Hinz improves her record to 3-0 on the season.
W&J got on the board first when
Hannah Allen (Irwin, Pa./Penn Trafford) drove in
Aliya Schraeder (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette) with an RBI single up the middle in the top of the third. Westbury recorded a run in the bottom of the second and third innings to take a 2-1 lead over W&J.
The Presidents pushed across three runs on three hits in the top of the fifth inning to regain the lead. After
Julia DiPietro-Harvey (Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice) reached on an error, Schraeder singled to put two runners on base.
Mackenzie Boyd (Beaver, Pa./Beaver) singled home J. DiPietro-Harvey to tie the score at 2-2.
Allen produced her third hit in as many at bats. Allen's double down the right field line plated Schraeder to give W&J the lead for good at 3-2.
Izzy DiPietro-Harvey (Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice) produced an RBI groundout to extend the lead to 4-2.
Old Westbury manufactured a run in the bottom of the fifth inning to cut the deficit to a single run. However, the Presidents countered with a run in the top of the sixth. Hinz helped herself with a one-out single. J. DiPietro-Harvey and Schraeder followed with back-to-back singles to load the bases. Boyd followed with a sac fly to extend the Red and Black lead to 5-3.
That was enough support for Hinz, who retired the Panthers in order in both the sixth and seventh innings.
Schraeder, Allen and J. DiPietro-Harvey all finished with multi-hit efforts in game one.
St. Catherine 8, W&J 0 (5 Innings)
St. Catherine took control early in game two and coasted to the 8-0 win in five innings. The Presidents managed just two hits in the loss, which included a triple by
Kasey Scears (Washington, Pa./Chartiers Houston) and a single by
Peyton Eckenrode (York Haven, Pa./Northeastern).
St. Cate's scored two in the first and one in the second to take a 3-0 lead. The Wildcats added four more in the third to take a commanding seven-run lead before adding a single run in the fourth to take the 8-0 win.
Kaylee Witner (Freeland, Pa./MMI Preparatory School) was saddled with the loss in her first collegiate start in the circle.
ON DECK: W&J faces Wisconsin-Oshkosh (9 a.m.) and Luther (11:30 a.m.) on Tuesday, March 21 in Clermont.
