LANCASTER, PA – The York College Spartan softball team split a wild doubleheader against Franklin & Marshall on warm Thursday afternoon in Lancaster.
The Diplomats walked off the Spartans 7-6 in game one but the Spartans bounced back with a 13-7 nine inning win in the nightcap.
The Spartans are now 13-21 overall while the Diplomats are 10-23.
 
Game One
Runs: York 6 – Franklin & Marshall 7
Hits: York 8 - Franklin & Marshall 12
Errors York 0 - Franklin & Marshall 2
LOB: York 7 - Franklin & Marshall 9
WP: Kate Delgrippo (4-7); LP: Natalie Rietema (7-11)
 
How It Happened
• The Spartans got off to a fast start in the first two innings of game one. York had back-to-back sacrifice flies from Gretchen Barstad and Emma Wade as they took a 2-0 lead in the first. Danella Silagy plated the first run in the second with an RBI single up the middle. She came around to score on a two-run single to right by Morgan Sauers as York jumped out to a 5-0 lead. Alexis McDonaugh closed out the scoring in the inning with an RBI single to right.
• The Spartans went to the pen in the bottom of the fourth up six and it didn't go well for York. The Diplomats plated four runs on five hits as York was forced to bring starter Natalie Rietema back into the game. The four-run inning sliced the Spartan lead to two. 
• After the big opening innings, the Spartan offense went cold as they had just one hit from the third through the sixth inning. The Spartans got runners to second and third with two outs in the seventh but couldn't come up with the big hit, setting the stage for the F&M seventh inning rally.
• The Diplomats got a bunt single followed by a single to left to put runners at first and second. A sacrifice bunt moved each runner up a base, putting the tying run in scoring position. After a pop up to second, Natalie Garza drew a walk to load the bases. After being down in the count 0-2, Alexa Klepper ripped a game-winning, three-run double to left center for the 7-6 win.
 
Spartan Offensive Leaders
Morgan Sauers: 2-for-4, 2 runs, 2 RBI
Rylee Dreyer: 2-for-3, 1 run, SB
Gretchen Barstad: 1-for-2, RBI, BB, SF
Emma Wade: 1-for-2, RBI, SF
Danella Silagy: 1-for-3, 1 run, RBI
 
Spartan Pitching
Natalie Rietema: 6.0 IP, 8 hits, 3 ER, 3 K, 3 BB
Courtney Freese: 0.2 IP, 4 hits, 4 ER, 2 K, 2 BB
 
Game Two
Runs: York 13 - Franklin & Marshall 7
Hits: York 12 - Franklin & Marshall 4
Errors: York 5 - Franklin & Marshall 5
LOB: York 11 - Franklin & Marshall 6
WP: Gretchen Barstad (4-5); LP: Kate Delgrippo (4-8)
 
How It Happened
• The start of game two completely flipped the script as the Diplomats raced out to a 6-0 lead after two innings of play. F&M scored five in the first and one more in the second for the early lead.
• York got a single run in the fourth as Rylee Dreyer drew a bases loaded walk. Kate Miller recorded a sacrifice fly in the fifth followed by a Bri McKeown RBI single to right to cut the Spartan deficit to 6-3. Gretchen Barstad blasted a two-run bomb to left in the sixth, cutting the Diplomat lead to 6-5.
• The Diplomats got the first two outs of the top of the seventh but the Spartans fashioned a rally to tie the game. McKeown led off the inning with a two-out single to right. Danella Silagy singled to center, moving McKeown to second. The Diplomats had a chance to finish off the game but an error allowed McKeown to score the tying run. F&M got a single in the bottom of the seventh but that runner got stranded at second as the teams moved to extra innings.
• Both teams got single runs in the eighth inning to force a ninth frame. The Spartan offense exploded in the ninth as they plated six runs to blow the game wide open. McKeown started the scoring with an RBI single. Dreyer plated three more runs with an inside-the-park three-run home run, giving York an 11-7 lead. Barstad closed out the scoring with a two-run triple to center for the final 13-7 margin of victory.
 
Spartan Offensive Leaders
Bri McKeown: 3-for-3, 2 runs, 2 RBI, BB
Gretchen Barstad: 2-for-6, 1 run, 4 RBI, 3B, HR
Danella Silagy: 2-for-5, 1 run
Rylee Dreyer: 1-for-3, 1 run, 4 RBI, HR, 2 BB
Kate Miller: 1-for-3, 1 run, RBI, 2B, SF
Morgan Sauers: 1-for-5, 1 run, RBI
 
Spartan Pitching
Kyrsten Coppage: 0.1 IP, 0 hits, 5 runs, 3 ER, 1 K, 5 BB, WP
Gretchen Barstad: 8.2 IP, 4 hits, 2 runs, 0 ER, 3 K, 0 BB
 
Spartan Notes
York had their seven-game win streak against the Diplomats snapped with the game one loss … York is now 29-24 all-time against F&M … In the game two win, York won for his the first time this year when trailing in the fourth inning … in game one, the Spartans lost for the first time when leading after six innings as they are now  9-1 … York is now 1-0 in extra innings … York falls to 2-3 in one-run games after the game one loss … the Spartans are now 5-5 when they score in the first inning … York is 1-15 when being outhit by their opponents … Gretchen Barstad blasted her team-leading fifth home run of the year in game two as she is now tied with Emma Wade for the team lead in RBI with 26 … Barstad leads the team with 70 total bases and 26 runs scored … Barstad tossed a career-high 8.2 innings in game two in her best performance of the year … Barstad scattered four hits, allowing two unearned runs with three strikeouts and no walks as she earned her fifth win of the year … Morgan Sauers and Rylee Dreyer each picked up multiple hits in game one, the fifth time this year for Sauers and the third time for Dreyer … in game two, Bri McKeown had her second multi-hit game of the year while Barstad notched her tenth game of the year with multiple hits … first year Spartan Danella Silagy had her ninth multi-hit game of the year in the nightcap … Alexis McDonaugh extended her season-high reached base safely streak to 28 on the day.
 
Up Next
The Spartans close out their regular season on Saturday as they head to Reading to face off against Alvernia University. Game one is slated for 1:00 pm. The Spartans will be playing for their post season lives as York is currently in the Commonwealth tournament but Saturday's overall results will play a role in where they finish.