HARRISONBURG, VA – Gracen Staunton's (Kernersville, NC/Northwest Guilford) pitching and hitting helped lead the Wilkes University softball team to a doubleheader split at Eastern Mennonite University Sunday afternoon to close out the Colonels Spring Break Trip. The Colonels took game one 4-2 in eight innings before dropping game two 5-0.

Wilkes will head back to campus with a 6-5 overall record to start the season. Eastern Mennonite now stands at 6-2 overall.

The Colonels opened the scoring of game one in the top of the third inning as Haley Boyd (Escalon, CA/Escalon) reached on a one-out double to right center. Gab Giordano (Moscow, PA/Holy Cross) followed with a RBI single up the middle to put Wilkes up 1-0.

Staunton then stranded runners at first and third in the bottom of the third pitching for the Colonels and collected her second hit of the game in the top of the fourth. Caitlin Brown (Glen Cove, NY/Glen Cove) and Emma Stauffer (Media, PA/Penncrest) each singled in the inning as well but the Colonels were unable to tack onto their lead as they left the bases loaded.

The Royals tied the game in the fifth after the leadoff hitter walked and scored on a two-out single through the middle.

Wilkes scored to take a 2-1 lead in the top of the seventh after Jordyn Kondras (Willow Street, PA/Lampeter-Strasburg) pinch hit and reached on fielding error. With one out, Boyd laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Kondras to second and then Girodano doubled to pick up her second RBI of the game.

Eastern Mennonite then sent the game into extra innings with a one-out solo home run in the bottom of the seventh.

Britny Jumalon (Torrance, CA/Torrance) was placed at second base to start the top of the eighth inning and advanced to third when Sydney Cogswell (Apalachin, NY/Vestal) reached on a throwing error. After Cogswell stole second Staunton delivered a base hit to right field to plate Jumalon with the go-ahead run and move Cogswell to third. Celine Podlesney (Hazle Twp., PA/Hazleton) then pinch hit and brought home Cogswell with a sacrifice fly to center to allow Wilkes to take a 4-2 lead.

Staunton (2-2) then shut things down in the bottom of the eighth by earning all three outs by strikeouts. She finished with a season-high nine strikeouts and earned her second victory of the season. She allowed two runs on just four hits and worked around seven walks. Staunton also starred at the plate for the Colonels going 4-for-4 with the game-winning RBI. Giordano finished 2-for-4 with two RBI's.

Eastern Mennonite took a 1-0 lead in the first inning of game two on two hits. The home team added two more runs on four hits in the bottom of the second to go ahead 3-0. The lead grew to 4-0 in the fourth as the Royals added four more hits but Wilkes was able to work out of a bases loaded situation with only the one run scoring. The scoring closed in the sixth when the Royals tacked on an unearned run before Erika Gerace (Orwigsburg, PA/Blue Mountain) entered to record a line out double play and a fly out.

Rhiannon Aurand (Avondale, PA/Avon Grove) (2-1) suffered her first collegiate loss. The freshman allowed five runs (four earned) on 13 hits while striking out two in five-plus innings of work.

Giordano, Jumalon, Stauffer and Sarah Gibson (Chico, CA/Pleasant Valley) collected one hit apiece for Wilkes in game two.

The Colonels are next scheduled to begin Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom play with their home opener on Saturday, March 16 when they host Misericordia University for a doubleheader at 1:00 p.m. at the Ralston Athletic Complex.