Groundbreaking Ceremony Video
ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Cedar Crest College softball team split a pair of United East Conference-Skye Division contests with the University of Valley Forge on Saturday afternoon at Cynthia L. Blaschak Field on Senior Day.
The Falcons won the first game by a score of 12-0 in five innings and then the Patriots came out victorious in game two, 6-3.
Prior to the event, members of the campus community and elected officials held the groundbreaking ceremony to kick off 2.5 million dollars in renovations at the Cynthia L. Blaschak Softball Field. Funding for $1 million of the renovations will be provided by a grant from the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP).
The renovations will convert the team's grass softball field into an all-year, all-weather turf field with lighting and improved drainage, alleviating limitations due to weather. These improvements will improve player safety, benefiting student-athletes, coaches, and the community groups who use the field.
In between games, Cedar Crest honored its two seniors
Corinne Mundy (Philadelphia, Pa./The Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush) and
Kristina Cagle (Pittsgrove, N.J./Arthur P. Schalick) in a special ceremony.
Game One – Cedar Crest 12, University of Valley Forge 0 (Five Innings)
Cedar Crest plated five runs in the bottom of the first inning to obtain the early advantage. Junior
Alex Mullen (Prospect Park, Pa./Interboro) started things with a two-run double to center field, bringing around first-year
Kate Gronkowski (Hanover Township, Pa./Hanover Area Junior Senior) and sophomore
Natalie Hasert (Vernon, N.J./Vernon Township). The next tally came after Mullen scored on a fielding error. Sophomore
Taylor Faw (Glen Burnie, Md./Glen Burnie) followed with a base hit to left field. Junior
Alexis Kline (Allentown, Pa./Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter) crossed home on the single. Junior
Anaya Duncan (Baltimore, Md./Franklin) delivered the final run of the frame, registering a double to right field, which scored Hasert to put the Falcons up 5-0.
The home team tacked on four more runs in the second inning. Mullen recorded her second double of the game and drove in Hasert. Sophomore
Laney Ferraro (Philadelphia, Pa./New Foundations Charter) doubled down the left field line, scoring Kline and Mullen. Faw then reached on a fielder's choice, which allowed Ferraro to touch home to increase the lead to 9-0.
Cedar Crest added three runs in the third inning. Mullen singled to right field and then Hasert scored on the play. Kline connected on a sacrifice fly to center field, which was deep enough to bring home Gronkowski. The last tally came on a base hit to right field by Cagle, which plated Mullen for the 12-0 score.
Mullen led the Falcons at the plate, going a perfect 3-for-3 with four RBI and three runs scored. Hasert went 3-for-4 with three runs scored. Cagle was the only other Cedar Crest player with multiple hits, going 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Sophomore Ava Page (Big Bear City, Calif.) and senior Laura Medio (Bear, Del.) each had a hit for the Patriots.
Mundy secured the shutout victory in the circle for the Falcons. She struck out three and only allowed three hits over five innings of work.
Medio was tagged with the loss, giving up 12 runs on 11 hits to go along with three strikeouts and four walks for Valley Forge.
Game Two – University of Valley Forge 6, Cedar Crest 3
The Patriots were the first to score in game two, plating three runs in the top of the first inning. Page singled up the middle, bringing home senior Morgan Bieler (Phoenixville, Pa.). Junior Keegan Thompson (Williamsburg, Va.) then registered a base hit to left field, scoring Page and then Harley Wakeman came home on an error for the 3-0 lead.
Mullen continued her strong day at the dish for Cedar Crest, recording a two-run triple to right field in the second inning. Gronkowski and Mundy scored on the play to make it a 3-2 score.
Valley Forge increased its lead in the sixth frame with another three runs. Thompson began things with a single to right field, plating Wakeman. Medio was credited with a sacrifice fly to right field, which was deep enough to bring home sophomore Marissa Urner (Royersford, Pa.). The last tally came by way of a single to left center field from the bat of senior Ashlynn Kunes (Millington, Md.). The base-knock scored Thompson to push the score to 6-2.
The Falcons got a run back in the seventh on a triple down the right field line, which plated Mundy for the 6-3 score, the eventual final.
Medio was the winning pitcher, tossing a complete game. She gave up three runs (one earned) on seven hits. Medio struck out three and walked two in her fourth win of the season.
Junior
BB Aquila (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) was credited with the loss, giving up three runs (one earned) on seven hits. She also picked up a strikeout in five innings of work.
Thompson concluded the contest, going 3-for-3 with three RBI and one run scored for the Patriots. Kunes also went 3-for-3 with one RBI.
Gronkowski and Mundy registered two hits apiece for Cedar Crest.
Cedar Crest (4-20, 4-8 United East-Skye Division) will next play at Rosemont College in a league doubleheader on Wednesday, April 24 starting at 3:00 p.m. The University of Valley Forge (7-17 overall, 1-11 United East-Skye Division) squares off against Clarks Summit University on the road in a conference twinbill on Wednesday at 3:00 p.m.
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