SCRANTON, Pa. – The Cedar Crest College softball team dropped a pair of non-conference games at Marywood University on Saturday afternoon at Pacer Park to conclude the regular season. The Falcons lost game one in a 10-2 final in five innings and then were edged 10-7 in the second contest.
Game One – Marywood 10, Cedar Crest 2 (Five Innings)
Marywood put up seven runs in the top of the first inning. First-year Tori Para (Pittston, Pa.) started the offence with a two-run double to center field, bringing around senior Emily Rose (Scranton, Pa.) and junior Mara Hamm (Clarks Summit, Pa.). Senior Samantha Baltrusaitis (Factoryville, Pa.) followed with a base-hit to center field, plating classmate Ashdon Clark (Gouldsboro, Pa.). In the next at-bat, senior Brooke McKay (Riverhead, N.Y.) delivered a single to left field, which helped score Para. Sophomore Emma McNally (Scranton, Pa.) recorded a sacrifice fly to left field to plate Baltrusaitis and in the next at-bat McKay came around to touch home on a double from first-year Marissa Gregory (Beach Lake, Pa.). Following a pop-up, Hamm drove in Gregory with a base-hit to left field for the 7-0 score.
The Pacers plated three more runs in the fourth frame. First-year Mikaela Badner (Fairless Hills, Pa.) singled to center field, scoring Para, while Hamm delivered a two-run single to right field, which allowed J. Hanley and McKay to cross home for the 10-0 advantage.
Cedar Crest got a pair back in the fifth. First-year
Laney Ferraro (Philadelphia, Pa./New Foundations Charter) hit a solo home run to left center for her first collegiate round-tripper. The second and final run came after sophomore
Anaya Duncan (Baltimore, Md./Franklin) scored after first-year
Natalie Hasert (Vernon, N.J./Vernon Township) reached on a fielder's choice for the 10-2 final.
Gregory was credited with the win in the circle for Marywood. She gave up two runs on six hits while striking out seven over 4.1 innings. Junior
Corinne Mundy (Philadelphia, Pa./The Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush) took the loss for the Falcons. She allowed 10 runs on 11 hits while walking seven and fanning one.
Hamm guided the Pacers at the dish, going 2-for-3 with three RBI and one run scored.
Graduate student
Ashley Heller (Allentown, Pa./Parkland), Duncan, Hasert, sophomore
Alexis Kline (Allentown, Pa./Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter), graduate student
Rachel Savini (Wilmington, Del./Delaware Military Academy), and Ferraro each finished with one hit for the Falcons.
Game Two – Marywood 10, Cedar Crest 7
Marywood registered nine of its runs over the first two innings to take the early advantage, scoring three in the first and six in the second.
Cedar Crest put up a three-spot in the fourth. Kline connected on a two-run single through the left side, plating Hasert and graduate student
Delaney VanBuskirk (Bridgeville, Del./Woodbridge). Later in the frame, Duncan registered a base-hit to left field to bring around senior
Brianna Lankford (Hanover, Pa./South Western Senior) to make it 9-3.
The Pacers pushed one run across in the home half of the fourth on a sacrifice fly to left field from first-year Priscilla Grill (Scranton, Pa.). The fly ball drove in McKay for the 10-3 score.
The Falcons tacked on a pair in the fifth on a two-run single up the middle from Hasert. The base-knock brought around sophomore
Alex Mullen (Prospect Park, Pa./Interboro) along with Heller to trim the deficit to five, 10-5.
Cedar Crest plated another two runs in the sixth. Mullen recorded a double to left field, which scored Heller for the first run. The next run came on a VanBuskirk base-hit to center field, bringing around Mullen for the 10-7 score, the eventual final.
Hamm was victorious in the circle for Marywood. She surrendered seven runs on 13 hits. In addition, she struck out eight and walked three. Mundy was tagged with the loss for the Falcons. She gave up 10 runs on 14 hits while striking out one.
Baltrusaitis led the Pacers at the plate in game two, going 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored.
Heller finished the contest 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Mullen followed with a 2-for-4 performance with an RBI and two runs scored. VanBuskirk registered a 2-for-4 game at the dish with an RBI and a run scored. Lankford went 2-for-4 with a run scored while Duncan concluded the game 2-for-4 with an RBI. Hasert had a 1-for-3 game with a pair of RBI and a run scored. Kline went 1-for-4 with two RBI while Ferraro rounded out the hit category, going 1-for-4.
The conclusion of the games on Saturday marked the end of the regular season for the Falcons. Cedar Crest (17-15 overall) turns its attention to the upcoming Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) Championship Tournament as the Falcons have clinched the No. 1 seed after finishing with a 14-2 mark in league play. Cedar Crest has earned the right to host the double-elimination tournament starting on Friday, May 5. The tournament will begin on Thursday, May 4 with the No. 4 seed hosting the No. 5 seed in a one-game play-in. Marywood (22-12 overall) will next play at Misericordia University in a non-conference doubleheader on Sunday, April 30, starting at 1:00 p.m.
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