Wilkes Softball Completes Drew Comeback, Bounced by Catholic in Landmark Tournament
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Wilkes University softball team's season came to an end at Blue and Grey Field on a wet and wild Saturday afternoon, defeating Drew University 4-3 in extra innings before falling to Catholic University 3-0 in the day's second game.
Wilkes finishes the year with a 23-19 overall record.
Game 1: Wilkes 4, Drew 3 (8 Innings)
Mia Butka (Scranton, PA/West Scranton) got the Colonel offense started in game one of the day with a double in the top of the first but was unable to cross home. The Rangers pounced on the opportunity, opening their half of the frame with a triple and a single. Haley Meierhofer then gave Drew the lead with a sacrifice fly and doubled it in the next at-bat with a single to center field.
In the second, Wilkes kept another Drew run off the board after a baserunning blunder by the Rangers, as the game remained scoreless for the next three innings. Meierhofer drove in her second run of the day in the bottom of the fifth with an RBI single, extending the lead to 3-0.
In the top of the sixth,
Samantha Petersen (Collegeville, PA/Perkiomen Valley) started the Colonel rally with a two-run homer to left field, putting the Colonels back within a run 3-2. A perfect time for the first-year's first career home run.
In the top of the seventh with
Tessa Stafursky (Eynon, PA/Valley View) on third,
Hana Cross (Kendall Park, NJ/South Brunswick) came up clutch with a single through the left side to tie the game. Drew put two runners in scoring position in the bottom of the seventh, but a final strikeout by
Lauren DeMarco (Merrick, NY/Sanford H. Calhoun) sent the game to extra innings.
In the eighth, Butka reached on an error and advanced to second, followed by an
Olivia Dougher (Scranton, PA/West Scranton) single that put runners on the corners.
Talia Piragas (Old Forge, PA/Old Forge), who loves a clutch hit at Blue and Grey Field, delivered the game-winning single through the right side to put the Colonels in front for good 4-3.
DeMarco (9-8) earned the win for Wilkes, pitching the seventh with one strikeout.
Audrey Rinda (Easton, PA/Easton Area) earned her second save of the year with a scoreless eighth, striking out one of her own. Piragas led the Colonels at the plate going 2-for-4 with the go-ahead RBI, while Petersen led the team with two runs batted in.
Gabby Duran (5-5) took the loss in the circle, going the distance allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits with four strikeouts. Olivia Magliacano led the Rangers at the plate going 3-for-4 with a double and a triple on the day.
Game 2: Catholic 3, Wilkes 0
After a lengthy rain delay, Rinda started game two locked in, allowing just two hits and striking out four Cardinals through the first four innings. In the fifth, Catholic broke through the Colonel defense with a two-run double to center field and added a third with a sacrifice fly.
Unfortunately for Wilkes they wouldn't reach base again, bowing out of the tournament with the 3-0 loss.
Rinda (3-6) was given the loss in a complete game outing, allowing all three runs on five hits with seven strikeouts, matching the second-highest mark on the season for the first-year right-hander. Cross was the lone Colonel with a multi-hit game, going 2-for-2 at the plate.
Sophia Colangelo (13-5) pitched a complete game for Catholic, allowing four hits with five strikeouts. Five Cardinals registered hits, with Hayden Hudson picking up a team-high two RBIs on her go-ahead double.
