Wilkes Softball Dominates in Sweep of DeSales
EDWARDSVILLE – The Wilkes University softball team came away with two convincing wins in Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) play on Saturday afternoon, defeating DeSales University 5-1 in game one and 2-0 in game two from the Ralston Athletic Complex.
The Colonels are now 4-2 in conference play and 14-7 overall.
DeSales got on the board in the top of the third with the aid of a Colonel error and a sacrifice fly to take a 1-0 lead.
Wilkes tied the game in the bottom of the fourth when Celine Podlesney (Hazle Twp., PA/Hazleton) singled, moved to second on a bunt from Caitlin Brown (Glen Cove, NY/Glen Cove), and after being replaced by a pinch-runner, Jaime Martin (Bridgeton, NJ/Cumberland Regional) came in to score on a single to center off the bat of Haley Welker (Nazareth, PA/Nazareth).
Erin Cabry (York, PA/Central York) got the bottom of the fifth started with her first career triple over the head of the Bulldogs right fielder and came in to score one batter later when Haley Boyd (Escalon, CA/Escalon) lofted a single over the head of the first baseman into right field to give Wilkes a 2-1 lead. Sarah Gibson (Chico, CA/Pleasant Valley) pushed the lead to 5-1 when she launched her first home run of the season over the center field fence to bring home Boyd and Gab Giordano (Moscow, PA/Holy Cross), who reached on a single to left one batter before following a DeSales pitching change.
Podlesney went the distance in game one for the Colonels, allowing one run (unearned) on two hits with zero walks and four strikeouts.
Giordano finished game one 3-for-4 with one run scored while Welker was 2-for-3 with one RBI.
Welker started the scoring in the bottom of the first in game two, singling through the left side to score Gibson, who hit a double off the center field wall and moved to third on a groundout. Welker came in to score one batter later when Brown launched a double to the left-center gap that scored the runner all the way from first as the Colonels led 2-0 after one inning of play.
That was all the scoring that was needed in game two to back Staunton in the circle, who went all seven innings allowing five hits, two walks, and four strikeouts.
Gibson, Welker, Brown, and Staunton each had one hit in the second game.
Wilkes returns to the field on Sunday for a 1:00 p.m. non-conference doubleheader against Stockton University from the Ralston Athletic Complex.
