YORK, Pa. – The York College softball team earned a non-conference doubleheader sweep of Lycoming College by scores of 4-0 and 1-0 on Thursday afternoon at Spartan Stadium.

Freshman pitcher Courtney Martin (Willow Street, Pa. / Lampeter-Strasburg) picked up her fifth and sixth shutouts of the season in two gritty performances for York (11-5) where she allowed a total of 13 hits in both games, but had a knack for getting outs at critical moments throughout both games to keep the shutouts in tact.

The two sides cruised through the first three-and-a-half innings of the game with a combined three batters reaching base. The Spartans bucked the trend in the bottom of the fourth and put the game's first runs on the board.

Katie Maloney (Aston, Pa. / Sun Valley) provided the offensive spark York needed as she singled through the right side and wasted little time stealing second once reaching base. Ashley Lechner (Willow Street, Pa. / Lampeter-Strasburg) capitalized on the opportunity and doubled to right center to drive in Maloney. Megan Martin (Cherry Hill, N.J. / Cherry Hill East) followed up Lechner's hit with a single up the middle which drove in Lechner for York's second run of the inning.

Lycoming (8-4) threatened in the top of the fifth with two runners on and one in scoring position with no outs, but Courtney Martin buckled down and forced back-to-back infield pop-ups and assisted on the final out on a ground ball up the middle.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Spartans kept the momentum going in their favor as Courtney Martin reached base with a single through the left side and was relieved on the base paths by Melissa Jurkiewicz (Oak Ridge, N.J. / Jefferson Township). The next batter up was Jayci Cristaudo (Mechanicsville, Md. / Chopticon) who smoked a double to left center to drive in Jurkiewicz. Next up was Savannah Zittle (Port Deposit, Md. / Catholic High School of Baltimore) who laid down a bunt and reached base due to a mishandled putout attempt by the first baseman, while Cristaudo scored York's fourth run of the ballgame on the play.

Lycoming had runners in scoring position in both the sixth and seventh innings, but the Warriors fouled out twice, once to Emily Glatts (Brookhaven, Pa. / Padua Academy) at third base and once to Carleigh Ruleman (Owings, Md. / Northern) at first base, to end their scoring attempts.

Courtney martin earned the win in game one as she went seven innings, allowing four hits, striking out two and walking two.

Lycomings Kristi Weaver suffered the loss and falls to 4-2 as she tossed six innings, giving up four runs on six hits with eight strikeouts to zero walks.

In game two, the Spartans relied on clutch defensive play to get out of multiple jams, combined with a solo home run by Lechner to claim a 1-0 win.

The Spartan defense showed up in the first inning, turning an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded as Courtney Martin fielded a ground ball, sent it home to Vanessa Mendez (Lititz, Pa. / Warwick) who then gunned it down the first base line to Ruleman to complete the 1-2-3 double play.

York turned another double play in the second inning when Glatts snagged a hot shot down the third base line and delivered a strong through across the diamond to Ruleman to double-up the runner at first.

The Warriors loaded the bases again in the fourth inning, but once again Courtney Martin managed to get out of the jam as she got Ashley Burger to ground out to Maloney at shortstop.

After getting out of that jam, York gained even more momentum in the bottom half of the inning when Lechner led off with a home run over the right field fence for the game's only run. The freshman cleanup hitter finished the day with two hits, two RBIs and two runs scored, and the home run is the first of her career.

York had its worked cut out for them clinging to a one-run lead, but sure-handed shortstop Maloney was up to the challenge. She came up with a critical defensive stop in sixth when she tracked down a tailing pop fly into the outfield grass and prevented the runner on third from scoring.

In top of the seventh and still holding on to a 1-0 lead, York managed to squeak out the victory as Courtney Martin recorded two strikeouts and once again fielded her position well as she snagged a sharp ground ball back up the middle and delivered it to Ruleman at first for the game's final out.

Courtney Martin earned the win and improves to 10-5 as she went seven innings, allowing nine hits with four strikeouts and two walks.

Caroline Lapano received credit for the loss as she twirled four-and-a-third innings, giving up one run on seven hits with two strikeouts and one walk.

The Spartans return to the diamond on Saturday when they face No. 2 Salisbury in their Capital Athletic Conference season-opening doubleheader. First pitch of game one is schedule for 1:00 p.m.

Courtney Martin photo courtesy of David Sinclair