YORK, PA-The York College softball team ended their abrieviated home campaign with a double header loss at the hands of Susquehanna University on a wet Wednesday afternoon in York. The Crusaders outlasted the Spartans 12-8 in nine innings in the opener before completing the sweep with a 6-4 victory in the nightcap. The Crusaders improve to 15-11 overall while the Spartans fall to 16-19.
    In game one, the Spartans jumped on the board first courtesy of a lead-off home run off the bat of freshman standout Sam Lawrence (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty). The Crusaders notched a three-spot in the top of the second to take the 3-1 lead. York cut into the lead in the bottom of the second on a Heather Bormann (Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial) RBI single up the middle. The green and white then tied the game at three in the bottom of the third as Andrea Tombesi (York, PA/Dallastown) homered to left.
    The Crusaders scored single runs in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings to take the 6-3 lead. York responded with a big three-run bottom of the six.
Freshman Lauren Brenneman (York, PA/Central York), Tombesi, and Afton Brugger (Westfield, PA/Cowanesque Valley) each had RBI singles in the inning as York knotted the score at six.
    Neither team scored in the seventh and both team scored single runs in the eighth. The Crusaders exploded for five runs in the top of the ninth to blow the game open. York managed to score one run in the bottom of the ninth but it would not be enough.
    Kelly McHale notched the win as she tossed four innings in relief. She allowed two unearned runs on three hits with two strikeouts and one walk as she improves to 5-6. Freshman Megan Lahner (Finksburg, MD/Westminster) suffered the loss in defeat as she allowed seven runs, three earned, on nine hits with three strikeouts in five innings of work.
    Kerri Brugger led the Crusaders with a 5-for-5 performance with two runs scored and an RBI. Sarah Shaffer was 2-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored. Kristin Boccafola added three hits, two RBI and a run scored to the Crusader offensive attack.
    Lawrence led the green and white as she was 4-for-6 with three runs scored and an RBI. Brugger was 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored while Ali Merrifield (Dallastown, PA/Dallastown) added two hits. Tombesi was 2-for-5 with three RBI and a run scored while Bormann was 2-for-3 with an RBI.
    In game two, the Spartans again struck first as they scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the first. Three straight doubles from Brenneman, Tombesi and  Shannon Wood (Harrisburg, PA/Bishop McDevitt) gave the Spartans the 2-0 lead.
    Susquehanna plated four runs in the top of the second to take the 4-2 lead. The green and white trimmed the lead to one with a Brenneman RBI double in the bottom of the third however Susquehanna extended the lead to 6-3 with two runs in the top of the fourth.
    York scored a single run on a Tombesi RBI single in the bottom of the fifth but York would be unable to get any closer as they dropped their third straight.
    McHale earned the win to even her record at 6-6. She allowed four runs, three earned, on nine hits with three strikeouts in seven innings. Junior Caitlin Roach (Stanhope, NJ/Lenape Regional) suffered the loss as she allowed four runs on eighth hits with two walks in three innings. She falls to 0-1 for the campaign.
    The Crusaders received two hits each from Shaffer, Kelsey Conway, Laurie Blaszka, and Kim Hartzell. Blaszka and Shafffer each had a pair of RBI and a run scored.
    Brenneman led the Spartans as she was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. Two of Brenneman's three hits were doubles as she now has 11 two-baggers for the year. Tombesi added two hits and two RBI while she also scored once for York.
    The Spartans conclude their regular season with a pair of trips starting with Sunday's twinbill at DeSales. York then finishes the regular season on Tuesday with a trip to Lebanon Valley.