STEUBENVILLE, Ohio – The Washington & Jefferson softball team posted a pair of victories Tuesday afternoon as they earned a Presidents' Athletic Conference sweep at Franciscan.
W&J rode a strong pitching performance by
Kaylee Witner (Freeland, Pa. / MMI Preparatory School) to secure a 2-1 victory in the opener. The Presidents then tallied season highs in runs (15) and hits (17) in game two to finish off the sweep.
The Presidents are now 3-11 in PAC play and 9-17 overall. Franciscan remains winless both overall (0-26) and in conference action (0-12).
Game One – W&J 2, Franciscan 1
The Presidents picked up a pair of unearned runs in the top of the first inning to take an early lead. Back-to-back singles by
Julia DiPietro-Harvey (Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice) and
Aliya Schraeder (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette) opened the game with back-to-back singles. After back-to-back strikeouts, W&J had two runners reach base via errors to allow DiPietro-Harvey and Schraeder to score.
Witner put together the best start of her collegiate career. The freshman allowed just two baserunners through the first five innings. Witner had a shutout intact until a solo home run ended that in the bottom of the sixth inning.
The six innings were a season-high for Witner, who also posted a season-best five strikeouts.
Sydney Petrowski (Lemont Furnace, Pa./Connellsville) entered in the seventh and retired the Barons in order to record the save.
Witner also went 3-for-3 at the plate to lead W&J offensively.
Peyton Eckenrode (York Haven, Pa./Northeastern) finished with a pair of hits.
Game Two – W&J 15, Franciscan 7 (6 Innings)
The Presidents scored in every inning of the nightcap as they posted season bests in runs, hits and extra base hits. W&J jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first on an RBI single by
Deanna Gratton (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway) and a RBI triple by
Kyra Blauth (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills).
DiPietro-Harvey recorded a sac fly in the second and
Jordan Hinz (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial) produced an RBI double in the third.
After a solo home run by Franciscan in the third inning, W&J scored seven times in the fourth inning. DiPietro-Harvey opened the scoring in the frame with an RBI double that scored
Mollie Charlton (North Apollo, Pa./Apollo Ridge). DiPietro-Harvey would score on a wild pitch to that stretched the W&J lead to 6-1. Later in the frame, Gratton produced an RBI single and Blauth slugged her first collegiate home run, a two-run shot to swell the W&J advantage to 9-1. The Presidents would tack on two more runs in the inning to lead 11-1. Franciscan would score twice in the bottom of the fourth.
Ashley Theimer (Woodstock, Md. / Marriotts Ridge) recorded her first collegiate hit and RBI in the fifth inning. The Theimer single scored Aniyah Dixon (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Taylor Allderdice) to make it 12-3.
Franciscan scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth to momentarily avoid the run-rule, cutting the deficit to 12-7.
W&J answered with three more runs in the top of the sixth inning. Blauth and
Mackenzie Boyd (Beaver, Pa./Beaver) added RBI hits in the sixth. W&J retired Franciscan in the bottom of the inning to finish off the 15-7 run-rule win in six innings.
Blauth, Gratton and Boyd helped pace the offensive outburst with three hits apiece. DiPietro-Harvey, Eckenrode and Charlton each added multi-hit efforts in the victory. DiPietro-Harvey and Blauth finished with four RBI apiece.
Hinz picked up the victory in the circle. She improves her record to 5-8. Hinz matched her season-high with eight strikeouts.
On Deck: W&J steps out of conference to host Pitt-Greensburg on Thursday, April 20. The non-conference twinbill is scheduled for a 3:30 start.
