EDWARDSVILLE – The Wilkes University softball team took a pair of games against visiting Lycoming College on Wednesday afternoon winning game one easily 8-1 before needing some extra-inning heroics in an 8-7 victory in ten innings in game two.
 
With the sweep Wilkes improved to 12-7 overall while Lycoming dropped to 10-4 on the season.
 
It was a combination of hitting and a dominant pitching performance by Celine Podlesney (Hazle Twp., PA/Hazleton) that led to the seven-run win in game one. After Lycoming scored one run in the top of the first with an RBI single down the right field line, Wilkes responded at the plate scoring eight unanswered runs on way to the victory.
 
Gab Giordano (Moscow, PA/Holy Cross) led off the frame taking first after being hit by a pitch. After stealing second Giordano moved to third when Sarah Gibson (Chico, CA/Pleasant Valley) singled. After a ground out, Britny Jumalon (Torrance, CA/Torrance) reached on a field's choice that scored Giordano tying the game at 1-1. Podlesney helped herself at the plate hitting a two-run double to left centerfield scoring Gibson and Jumalon to give the Colonels a 3-1 advantage. One batter later Caitlin Brown (Glen Cove, NY/Glen Cove) made it back-to-back doubles, this time to right field, scoring Podlesney on the hit as Wilkes led 4-1 after one inning.
 
Wilkes added two more runs in the bottom of the second thanks to three hits and one Lycoming error. Erin Cabry (York, PA/Central York) reached on an error by the left fielder before coming around to score on Haley Boyd's (Escalon, CA/Escalon) RBI double down the left field line. Giordano then doubled and scored Boyd on the next at-bat to push the Colonel lead to 6-1.
 
The Colonels tacked on two more in the bottom of the fifth nearly ending the game early. Haley Welker (Nazareth, PA/Nazareth) began the frame with a single up the middle before moving to second when Cabry was hit by a pitch. Boyd added her second hit of the game loading the bases with no outs. After Lycoming changed pitchers, Giordano and Gibson drew back-to-back walks to up the advantage to 8-1 still with no outs. From there Lycoming used a double play and line out to escape the frame.
 
Wilkes also had the bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the sixth, but another double play ended the chance for Colonel runs. Podlesney shut the door on Lycoming in its final at-bats using two groundouts and a strikeout to record her fifth victory of the season in the circle.
 
Eight different Colonels reached the hit column in the win as Podlesney and Welker each recorded 3-for-4 performances. Boyd added two hits and one RBI. Giordano finished 1-for-2 with two RBI's.
 
Podlesney was efficient throughout in the circle scattering four hits giving up just the one earned run in the first inning while striking out three Warriors.
 
Lycoming jumped out to a 2-0 lead in game two scoring on a Morgan Klosko two-run double. Wilkes responded in the bottom of the first cutting the deficit in half. Jumalon started the rally with a single up the middle. Podlesney continued her torrid bat singling to left field moving Jumalon to second. Jessie Smith (Millersville, MD/Severna Park) came through with the clutch hit when she connected on a base hit to right field scoring Jumalon from second on the play.
 
Giordano made the comeback complete in the bottom of the third when she hit a towering home run over the left field fence tying the game at 2-2 after three innings.
 
The game would go scoreless over the next four innings when the international tie-breaker procedure came into effect in the top of the eighth. With a runner placed on second base throughout extra-innings, Lycoming struck first using a sacrifice fly to plate the run to take a 3-2 lead. Wilkes responded in the bottom half of the frame when Gibson singled down the right field line scoring Sydney Cogswell (Apalachin, NY/Vestal) from second.
 
Lycoming added another run in the top half of the ninth inning with an RBI single following a sacrifice bunt that moved the runner to third. The Colonels answered back for a second time as Brown doubled home Erika Gerace (Orwigsburg, PA/Blue Mountain) from second to tie the game at 4-4.With one out and runners on second and third, Wilkes was unable to plate the winning run as a foul out and groundout sent the game into the tenth.
 
Lycoming looked as if they put the game away in the top half of the tenth scoring three runs thanks to an RBI single, wild pitch and RBI groundout that did the damage to take a 7-4 advantage.
 
The Colonels did not go away for the third straight inning and used timely hitting to seal the non-league victory. Giordano singled up the middle and stole second to place runners on second and third with no outs. Gibson singled home Kondras who began the inning on second base cutting into the deficit at 7-5. Jumalon then came through with a huge two-run triple when she connected on a line drive down the right field line tying the game at 7-7 with still no outs in the inning.
 
Following two groundouts, Cabry continued the clutch hitting with a single up the middle to plate the game-winning run and complete the sweep.
 
The Colonels pounded out 15 hits in the game including a 3-for-5 performance from Jumalon including the game-tying two-run triple in the tenth. Gibson, Giordano, Podlesney and Smith all added two hits apiece.
 
All the Wilkes hitting overshadowed a brilliant performance in the circle from rookie Rhiannon Aurand (Avondale, PA/Avon Grove) who went all ten innings allowing just five hits and four earned runs striking out two for her third career victory.
 
Wilkes is back in action Saturday hosting DeSales University in a MAC Freedom doubleheader starting at 1:00 p.m.