EDWARDSVILLE – The Wilkes University softball team split its Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom-opening doubleheader with Eastern University at Ralston Athletic Complex on Saturday afternoon. The Lady Colonels won the first game 1-0 on a walk-off single by freshman Caitlin Brown (Glen Cove, NY/Glen Cove), and lost the second game 10-2 in five innings.

Wilkes is now 5-5 overall on the season and 1-1 in MAC Freedom play.

Game one was a true pitchers dual, as both Eastern's Haleigh Williams and the Lady Colonels' Nicole Cumbo (Wyoming, PA/Wyoming Area) went the distance. Cumbo never blinked, scattering five hits with one walk and three strike outs to earn her second win of the season. Williams surrendered five hits with zero walks and two strikeouts in 6.2 innings giving up the one earned run to take her fifth loss of the season. 

The run scored after junior Lacey Bixler (Williamstown, PA/Williams Valley) stepped up to the plate with two outs and ripped a double to the wall in left center field. Brown followed and hit a single to center field to drive in Bixler and end the game.

Brown led Wilkes at the plate, going 2-for-3 with the lone rbi.

In the second game, the Eagles got off to a quick start, scoring two runs in the first and one in the second. The Lady Colonels cut the lead to 3-1 in the in the bottom of the second when junior Ally Paskas (Rutherford, NJ/Rutherford), junior Mikala Strum (Grass Valley, CA/Nevada Union), and Bixler all walked to load the bases with one out. Brown stepped up and hit a sacrifice fly to left to drive in Paskas with Wilkes' first run of the game.

Eastern scored seven runs in the top of the fifth on five hits, one error, and one walk. The Lady Colonels scored a run in the bottom of the fifth on Alexis Ayache (Catasauqua, PA/Catasauqua)'s single to right field to drive in Bixler, but Wilkes was unable to get any closer as the game ended after five innings.

Bixler and Ayache were both 1-for-1 at the plate, with Bixler also reaching on a walk.

Sophomore Christina Gambino (Basking Ridge, NJ/Ridge) fell to 1-2 on the season with the loss, surrendering three runs (one earned) on two hits and one walk in one-plus inning of work.

The Lady Colonels return to the field on Wednesday when they travel to Keystone College for a 3 p.m. non-conference doubleheader.