MYRTLE BEACH, SC – The Wilkes University softball team split a pair of games on Thursday dropping its first contest of the season 6-2 against Grove City College before rebounding with a 4-3 victory against Ursinus College in the nightcap.
 
Wilkes improved to 5-1 over the first three days of competition on its spring break trip.
 
Christina Gambino (Basking Ridge, NJ/Ridge) put Wilkes on the board first against Grove City connecting on a two-run double that scored Caitlin Brown (Glen Cove, NY/Glen Cove) and Sarah Birchmeier (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East) who both singled earlier in the first inning. From there, Grove City pitcher Aimee Wootton clamped down on the Lady Colonel offense allowing just two more Wilkes hits over the next six innings of action.
 
Grove City plated one run in the first followed by a three-run fourth inning to take its first lead of the game before adding two more insurance runs in the sixth.
 
Brown and Gambino each finished 2-for-3 to lead the Wilkes offense. Celine Podlesney (Hazle Twp., PA/Hazleton) went 3.2 innings allowing seven hits and four runs all unearned while striking out one. Gracen Staunton (Kernersville, NC/Northwest Guilford) entered in relief pitching 2.1 innings allowing three hits and two runs also unearned.
 
The Wilkes bats rebounded in the win over Ursinus as the Lady Colonels pounded out eight hits and four runs on way to their fifth victory of the season.
 
In the second inning Ally Paskas (Rutherford, NJ/Rutherford) started things off with an RBI single scoring Haley Welker (Nazareth, PA/Nazareth). Staunton then added an RBI single scoring Kaliyah Moore (South Williamsport, PA/Williamsport) as Wilkes led 2-0 after two innings. AN RBI hit from Moore in the fourth plated Welker and Sarah Gibson (Chico, CA/Pleasant Valley)'s RBI double scored Paskas to give Wilkes a 4-0 advantage heading into the sixth inning.
 
Ursinus made things interesting in the final two innings scoring two runs in the sixth before adding another in the seventh to cut the Wilkes lead to 4-3 with two outs. After a walk, Staunton wrapped up her third win of the week in the circle with a pop out to second base.
 
Paskas and Welker led the offense in game two with two hits each. Staunton went all seven innings striking out seven to secure her third win of the year.
 
Wilkes concludes its trip tomorrow (Friday) playing a pair of games against La Roche College at 9:30 a.m. and Regis College at 11:30 a.m.