LATROBE, Pa. - The Washington & Jefferson College softball team (8-12, 4-6) split a midweek Presidents' Athletic Conference doubleheader with the Saint Vincent Bearcats (9-13, 3-7) to remain ahead in the conference standings. The Presidents late comeback fell just short in game one, dropping a 5-4 verdict. W&J responded well in game two, picking up a 4-2 win that featured 12 hits as a team with no errors.

W&J 4, Saint Vincent 5

Sophomore Macayle Thornhill (Warren, Ohio/Jackson-Milton) led the Presidents by going 2-for-2 at the plate in game one. Senior Hannah Allen (Harrison City, Pa./Penn Trafford) went 2-for-4 as well. Classmate Deanna Gratton (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway) scored a run and drew two walks in the opener.

The two teams traded a run early through the first two innings of play. The Presidents' run came from a single by sophomore Maddie Luxenberger (Montoursville, Pa./Loyalsock Township). Allen started the rally, and two fielders' choices set up senior Kaylee Witner (Freeland, Pa./MMI Preparatory School) to cross the plate.

The Bearcats were able to break the game open with a three-run bottom of the third, but the Presidents did not go away easily. W&J got a run back in the top of the fourth following back-to-back singles by Julia DiPietro-Harvey (Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice) and sophomore Anna Luxenberger (Montoursville, Pa./Loyalsock Township). Gratton scored off the hits by drawing a walk to cut the Saint Vincent lead down to two.

The Bearcats found one final run in the bottom of the fifth, but W&J kept fighting. W&J got two runs across the plate in the final two innings to close the gap to one, but the Saint Vincent defense made the necessary adjustments to close out the game and take a 5-4 win. The fourth W&J run came from singles by Thornhill and junior Mirranda Rinehart (Washington, Pa./Trinity). A. Luxenberger scored the final W&J run from a single by sophomore Sydney VanNess (Warren, Ohio/Howland).

Witner pitched 2.2 innings in the start with two strikeouts. Thornhill also pitched 2.2 innings, recording one strikeout. Freshman Braelyn Altman (Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice) came in to effectively close out the contest.

W&J 4, Saint Vincent 2

Sophomore Savannah Bodnar (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) helped lead the Presidents in the win, going 2-for-3 at the plate and scoring a run. Additionally, Allen was a perfect 3-for-3 on offense and scored a second run for W&J.

The Presidents found their offense from the beginning of game two, recording at least one hit in the opening two frames. The squad struck first when Bodnar tripled to right field to open the top of the third inning. DiPietro-Harvey singled to score Bodnar and get W&J on the board.

W&J continued to find the offense in game two and broke the contest open in the top of the fifth. M. Luxenberger and VanNess started the inning with two singles. An error by the Bearcat defense scored M. Luxenberger. A single from Allen and a double from Rinehart cleared the bases to give W&J a 4-0 lead.

Altman led a Presidents' defense through five straight scoreless innings during game two. The team successfully got out of multiple jams with runners on to keep Bearcat runs from coming across the plate.

Saint Vincent got two runs in the fifth to cut the Presidents' lead in half, but the defense rebounded and successfully held on to the 4-2 lead and took the win to split the series.

Altman pitched 5.1 innings and recorded one strikeout to pick up the freshman's fourth win of the season. Classmate Haylee Young (Zanesville, Ohio/John Glenn) closed out the final 1.2 innings. Young only gave up one hit and had two strikeouts to record her first collegiate save.

The Presidents return to Brooks Park on Monday (April 6) for a non-conference doubleheader against the La Roche Redhawks. First pitch for game one is slated for 3:00 p.m.