CHESTER, Pa. - The Wilkes University softball team earned a non-conference sweep of the Widener University Pride Monday evening with a 5-3 win in game one, and a 9-3 win in game two at Fred Dohrmann Field.

The Colonels improve to 11-5 this season, while the Pride fall to 5-13 after the sweep.

Game 1: Wilkes 5, Widener 3

Mia Butka (Scranton, PA/West Scranton) wasted no time getting the Colonels on the board, blasting a solo home run over the left field wall with two outs in the top of the first inning to make it a 1-0 game.

From there, Widener starter Hayden Sissons kept the Wilkes lineup in check for much of the game. The Colonels mustered just four hits through the first six innings with Sissons in the circle.

She also hit a solo home run of her own off Wilkes' starting pitcher Audrey Rinda (Easton, PA/Easton Area) to tie the game 1-1 in the bottom of the second. That was all Rinda would allow as she exited the game after throwing 67 pitches in just three innings, striking out five batters and allowing four walks.

Alexa Stahl (Montoursville, PA/Montoursville Area) came out of the bullpen for the Colonels, and pitched a clean fourth inning before running into trouble in the fifth. She walked Widener's Taylor Bell on four pitches, who then came around to score after an RBI double by Elizabeth Carney.

With Widener now in the lead and nobody out, Butka came in to pitch the rest of the game. She got the three outs to close out the inning, but surrendered an RBI sacrifice fly to Jocelin Mayorga. That made Stahl's final line one inning pitched with two earned runs, one hit, one walk, and two strikeouts.

With Widener leading 3-1 going into the top of the seventh, the Colonel bats finally woke up. Maddy Maloney (Scranton, PA/Lackawanna College) led off the frame with a double, then Talia Piragas (Old Forge, PA/Old Forge) singled to get runners on the corners with no outs. Hana Cross (Kendall Park, NJ/South Brunswick) stepped up to the plate representing the go-ahead run, and the senior delivered a clutch three-run home run to give Wilkes a 4-3 lead.

That got Sissons pulled from the game, but the Colonels weren't finished. They strung together another three hits in the inning to grab another insurance run and make it a two-run game. Butka slammed the door shut on any potential comeback for the Pride with three-straight outs in the bottom of the frame to secure the 5-3 win.

Butka earned the win for the Colonels with a final stat line of three innings pitched, no runs allowed, three hits, and one strikeout. Sissons took the loss for the Pride with a final line of six innings pitched, four runs allowed, seven hits, and six strikeouts.

Cross finished 1-3 at the plate with the three-run homer, but Butka, Allison Sterner (Hawley, PA/Wallenpaupack Area), and Olivia Dougher (Scranton, PA/West Scranton) all finished with multi-hit games. As for Widener, five different players recorded a hit.

Game 2: Wilkes 9, Widener 3

For game two, the Colonels started Tessa Stafursky (Eynon, PA/Valley View) in the circle, while the Pride started Bella Smith. Both pitchers held the opposition scoreless in the first inning, but Widener struck first in the second.

Stafursky retired the first two batters she faced but allowed a walk to Julia Yogis, and then Hailey Hernandez hit an RBI double to score Yogis and make it 1-0 Pride.

However, Wilkes took a 2-1 lead in the very next inning thanks to a solo home run from Cross, and an RBI double from Butka four batters later after a Widener error. That lead didn't last long because Katelyn Tong hit a two-run dinger in the bottom half of the frame and put the Pride back on top 3-2.

Lauren DeMarco (Merrick, NY/Sanford H. Calhoun) came out of the bullpen for Wilkes to pitch the fourth inning and pitched the rest of the game, allowing zero runs, one hit, and striking out five batters in the process.

Widener held that lead going into the top of the sixth, but the Colonel bats exploded for seven runs to turn a close game into a blowout. It started with a Paige Randazzo (Phillipsburg, NJ/Phillipsburg) walk to get a runner on base, and then Cross homered two batters later to give Wilkes a 4-3 lead. Piragas brought in another run with an RBI single to right field, Butka doubled to left to drive in another two runs, and then Dougher nailed the knockout punch with a two-run homer to make it a 9-3 Colonel lead.

DeMarco recorded the final six outs without any issue, and the Colonels secured the sweep. She earned the win for her effort, while Stafursky finished a final line of three innings pitched, allowing three earned runs, four hits, two walks, and a strikeout. Meanwhile for Widener, Smith went two and two-thirds innings pitched, but Amanda Danz took the loss by going two and two-thirds innings pitched as well. Danz allowed two earned runs off four hits with one strikeout.

Maloney, Piragas, Butka, and Cross all finished with two hits apiece. Cross and Butka both led the team with three RBIs in game two, and Cross hit three home runs across both games this afternoon for a grand total of six RBIs. 

The Colonels look to carry this momentum into their Saturday doubleheader against the Elizabethtown College Blue Jays. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m.