YORK, PA-The York College softball team swept a crucial Capital
Athletic Conference doubleheader against the University of
Mary Washington on a sunny, yet cool, Saturday afternoon in
York. The Spartans edged the Eagles 1-0 in the opener before
completing the sweep with a 10-3 win in second game of the day. The
Spartans, who have won six straight, improve to 10-4 overall and
4-0 in the CAC. The Eagles fall to 18-13 overall and 6-2 in the
conference.
Game one was all about the two starting pitchers as York's
Megan Lahner (Finksburg, Md./Westminster) and Mary
Washington's Kirsten Rowell locked in a classic
pitchers' dual. The Eagles had their first scoring chance in
the second as Kaitlin Petrella doubled off the wall in left center
to open the inning. Lahner got a strikeout, a ground out to second
and another strikeout to keep the Eagles off the board.
The Spartan got the game's lone run in the bottom of the
second as Michelle Barwick (Cockeysville,
Md./Dulaney) walked with one out. Fellow frosh
Kristen Gray (Mickleton, N.J./Kingsway Regional)
also walked to put runners at first and second. A wild pitch
from Rowell put Spartans at second and third. Spartan junior
Ali Merrifield (York, Pa./Dallastown) hit a rocket
down the third base line that caromed off the glove of a diving
Ashley Sifer, allowing Barwick to scoot home with the game's
lone run.
Mary Washington got two runners on in the fourth but that would
be the last significant threat they would have in the game.
Lahner improved to 4-0 with the four hit shutout. She allowed
one extra base hit and struck out three. Her control was impeccable
in the game as she did not walk a single Eagle in her seven innings
of work. Rowell was almost as good as Lahner as she allowed one run
on five hits with three strikeouts. She did battle some control
issues during the game as she walked four in the contest. She falls
to 12-7 with the loss.
The Spartans had just five hits with Heather Bormann
(Brick, N.J./Brick Memorial) picking up two in the game.
Merrifield had the game's lone RBI while Sam Lawrence
(Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) and Andrea Tombesi
(Dallastown, Pa./Dallastown) also had singles for York.
Katherine Matusik led the Eagles with two hits while Petrella
and Jamie Clevenger each added one knock for the Eagles.
In the nightcap, the Spartans struck for a pair of runs in the
bottom of the second as the Eagle defense aided the Spartans'
uprising. Tombesi began the frame by reaching on a dropped pop up.
After sacrifice bunt, Gray ripped a shot that went right through
the legs of Mary Washington second baseman Chaise Moody, allowing
Tombesi to score the game's first run. After a flyout,
Jess Balch (Peekskill, N.Y./Peekskill) stroked a
double to right center, plating Gray with the second run of the
inning.
The Eagles got a run back in the top of the third on a Kerri
Spaulding double to right center, plating Clevenger who had walked
to open the inning.
York responded with a six run bottom of the third, but again,
the Eagle defensive miscues allowed the Spartans to have a big
inning. Freshman Kelly Smith (Riverdale, Md./St. Vincent
Pallotti) had an RBI single to plate the first run of the
frame. Barwick added a second RBI single as she scored Lawrence
with two outs. With the bases loaded, Merrifield hit a ground ball
to second that Moody made a nice play to get to. Unfortunately for
the Eagles, she threw the ball away, allowing two runs to score as
the Spartan lead grew to 6-0. Balch then hit a pop up on the
infield that was dropped, allowing two more runs to score for the
green and white.
The Eagles trimmed the lead to 8-3 as Petrella hit a two-run
home run in the sixth. York countered with two runs of their own in
the bottom of the sixth as Smith had a sacrifice fly and Gray had
an RBI single to provide for the final Spartan margin of
victory.
Senior Megan Mickles (Havertown, Pa./Haverford)
won her third consecutive decision as she threw a complete game,
allowing three runs on three hits with 11 strikeouts and four
walks. Two of Mickles' walks came around to score but it was
another strong outing for the Spartan senior. She improves to 4-2
with the win. Stephanie Watkins suffered the loss a she allowed ten
runs, just four earned, on 10 hits. She walked four and struck out
three as she falls to 3-3 for the season.
The Spartan offense was paced by Lawrence as the sophomore was
3-for-4 with a run scored. Smith was 1-for-3 with a pair of
RBI and a run scored while Bormann was 1-for-3 with a run
scored. Gray added a hit, two runs scored, and an RBI while Balch
was 1-for-3 with an RBI.
Petrella led the Eagles as she was 1-for-3 with a run scored and
two RBI on her seventh home run of the year. Spaulding was
1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored while Melissa Bjorklund
had the Eagles' other hit, a seventh inning single.
The Spartans step out of conference play on Tuesday as they host
Elizabethtown in a non-conference doubleheader. Game one is slated
to begin at 3:00 pm.
GAME
ONE
GAME
TWO
