WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Washington & Jefferson College softball team was bested on both ends of a Presidents' Athletic Conference doubleheader against the Grove City Wolverines. W&J lost game one by a 16-7 score which was accompanied by a game two loss, 12-10.
Game 1 – Grove City 16, W&J 7
Kyra Blauth (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) and
Aliya Schraeder (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette) led the Presidents offensively with two hits each. Blauth launched the Presidents' first homer at Brooks Park in the 2025 season, compiling three RBIs. Schraeder inched her way closer to the 100 hits club, now two hits away from the career milestone.
Mirranda Rinehart (Washington, Pa./Trinity) went 1-for-2 in game one with a double that scored the first run and two hit by pitches.
Julia DiPietro-Harvey (Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice) also picked up a base knock to round out the Presidents top batters.
W&J went down early in the top of the first inning as the Wolverines tacked on two runs. The Presidents answered in the following frame with a double off the bat of Rinehart, scoring DiPietro-Harvey from first. Quickly after, Blauth sent a fly ball over the left field fence to bring in two runs and grant the Presidents a 3-2 lead.
Grove City proceeded to respond with 10 runs scored in the following four inning to take a 12-3 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth.
The Presidents managed to muster runs in the bottom of the fifth, courtesy of a walked in run by
Hannah Allen (Harrison City, Pa./Penn Trafford) and error by the right fielder to bring the Wolverine lead to 12-6. Blauth singled in the bottom of the sixth to tack on another run but to no avail. Grove City scored three additional runs in the top of the seventh to close out the 16-7 win in game one.
Taylor Dunn (Washington, Pa./Trinity) got the start and pitched 2.2 inning with one strikeout in her third loss of the season.
Anna Luxenberger (Montoursville, Pa./Loyalsock Township) pitcher her first collegiate inning of the season with 4.1 innings of work in relief.
Game 2 – Grove City 12, W&J 10
Grove City built off their momentum from the first game and posted an offensive onslaught in the opening inning of game two. The Wolverines scored nine runs on nine hits in the top of the first inning. They tacked on two additional runs in the top of the second inning to elevate their early lead to 11-0.
The Presidents offense couldn't be held off for long as they broke the unanswered run in the bottom of the second with two runs. A single by
Ashley Theimer (Woodstock, Md./Marriotts Ridge) and sacrifice flyout by Rinehart put the first runs of game two on the board for the Red & Black.
W&J maintained their slow climb back into the game with two additional runs in the bottom of the third. Base hits by
Sydney VanNess (Warren, Ohio/Howland) and
Deanna Gratton (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway) decreased the Wolverine lead to 11-4.
W&J put up their best inning of work offensively in the bottom of the fourth, scoring four runs to cut the Wolverine lead to two. Blauth, VanNess and Gratton all batted in runs off base hits while Schreader flew out on a sacrifice flyout to pick up her RBI.
Allen pulled the Presidents closer to evening the score in the bottom of the fifth with another double on the night, scoring Blauth from second.
Maddie Luxenberger (Montoursville, Pa./Loyalsock Township) knocked a single up the middle of the infield to bring the Grove City lead to 11-10 heading into the sixth inning.
In the top of the frame, the Wolverines tacked on an insurance run that turned into the final score of the game, 12-10.
Freshman
Macayle Thornhill (Warren, Ohio/Jackson-Milton) pitched 0.2 innings and was tabbed with the loss, now 2-5 on the year.
Up Next: The Presidents manage a quick turnaround in conference play, facing the Franciscan Barons in a doubleheader on Saturday (March 29). First pitch of game one is scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. start.
