(Dover, Del.) – The Delaware State softball team (13-7) began the second day of a busy weekend Saturday afternoon at home with a tough 2-1 loss in the first game of a doubleheader against the Mount St. Mary's Mounts (9-14-1), but bounced back in game two with a 5-1 victory.
In game one, the contest was scoreless until the fifth inning when catcher Holly Buckel of Mount St. Mary's capitalized with runners in scoring position with an RBI-single to bring in pinch runner Rachel Heintz from third. Later in the frame, DSU's Sandy Hawthorne attempted to catch Buckel stealing second, but her throw was off target as outfielder Jessica Greenewald scored from third to make it a 2-0 ball game.
After holding the Mounts in check the rest of the game, the Hornets generated some momentum in the seventh, beginning with a Chloe Oro single, followed by outfielder Nicole Gazzola reaching first on an error as Oro advanced all the way to third. With outfielder Jessica Madrid at the plate, Gazzola and Oro executed a double steal situation as Oro scored on the throw to get Gazzola out at second.
Madrid, meanwhile, managed to draw a walk, yet designated player Tara Tursellino in the ensuing at-bat grounded out to pitcher Nicole Pagano (7-6) for the second out.
Nevertheless, the Hornets caught a break when Hawthorne was drilled by Pagano to load the bases, but DSU could not breakthrough as infielder Rochelle Sablay grounded out to Tori Belloc at short to end the game.
Offensively, the Mounts tallied eight hits, led by outfielder Megan Baker's 2-for-3 outing at the plate, whereas the Hornets managed six hits. Additionally, the Hornets stranded 11 runners on-base and committed three errors.
Pitching wise, senior Rachel Meagley (1-2) picked up the loss, despite only completing the first inning after being replaced by freshman Vanessa Ciocatto (5-3). For the Mounts, Sam Lichtner (2-4) recorded the win while allowing four hits, three walks and totaling four strikeouts.
Game two, on the other hand, was a different story for the Hornets as they took a 3-0 lead after a two-run RBI-double by Hawthorne in the first inning and a Oro RBI-single in the following frame. In the fifth, same score, DSU increased its lead to five with a Tursellino RBI-double to bring in Madrid and Gazzola.
With the game seemingly in hand, the Hornets left the door slightly open for a Mount St. Mary's comeback when right fielder Kaitlyn Slater muffed a pop fly hit by infielder Marissa Mayes as pinch runner Katy Bobbitt scored from second with two outs.
However, the Hornets shunned the Mounts with Tursellino (7-2) forcing Belloc to ground out to complete a stellar performance in the circle of allowing just three hits, no walks, no earned runs and fanning three batters.
At the plate, DSU tallied eight hits with Gazzola and Madrid both going 2-for-3 with two runs scored to lead the way.
Tomorrow, the Columbia Blue & Red will wrap up the Sean Savage Epilepsy Awareness Memorial Tournament with a doubleheader (11 a.m. and 1 p.m.) against the Cornell Big Red.
