Dallas, PA – Misericordia University improved to 23-11 on the spring by sweeping a non-conference softball doubleheader from Keystone College on Wednesday afternoon at Misericordia's Anderson Field.  The Cougars won the first game 10-4 before shutting out the Giants in five innings in the nightcap, 10-0 as Keystone falls to 10-18 on the spring with their sixth-straight setback.      
 
In Wednesday's opener, Misericordia took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on a bases-loaded walk, but Keystone scored three runs on three hits and one error to take a 3-1 advantage in the visitor's third.  The Giants went ahead 2-1 on a two-run home run by Lindsey Bucklaw (Carbondale, PA/Carbondale Area) before Karissa Worobey (Scranton, PA/Scranton) scored the visitor's third after stealing third and coming home on a throw by the Cougars.
 
Misericordia tied the score with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth inning as Melissa Parker hit a solo home run before Sam Hare hit an RBI single.  The hosts then tacked on three runs in the fifth inning to open up a 6-3 lead before Emily Long (Shamokin, PA/Lourdes Regional) scored on an infield single by Bucklaw to cut the Giants' deficit to two runs, but the Cougars put the game out of reach with a four-run bottom half of the frame.
 
Whitney Ellenberg led the hosts with a 3-4, three-RBI game at the plate while Hare, Parker, and Melanie Quintanill each collected two hits.
 
Maddie Stebich picked up the win in the circle for Misericordia by tossing a complete game and allowing four runs on seven hits while striking out eight batters.
 
Long and Bucklaw had two hits apiece to lead Keystone's offense while Worobey suffered the loss on the rubber after yielding six earned runs on 13 hits while fanning two batters.  Worobey became Keystone's all-time leader in career strikeouts with her first K of the day on Wednesday.
 
In game two, Misericordia raced out to a 7-0 lead in the first inning as Andi Veneziale followed a pair of bases-loaded walks with a grand slam before Quintanill hit an RBI single to give the Cougars the early seven-run cushion.
 
Ellenberg and Quintanill hit solo home runs in the home third before Misericordia capped the scoring in the fourth inning by plating a run on a fielder's choice.
 
Quintanill, Parker, and Megan Hardy had two hits apiece for the Cougars in the nightcap while Jordan Hoffman picked up the shutout win by scattering three hits and striking out a pair of batters in the contest.
 
Chelsey Hropovich (Seward, PA/Ligonier Valley) suffered the loss in her first start of the season after allowing five runs while Worobey was charged with five runs in the final 3.1 innings in the circle for the Giants, who got a pair of hits from Kaitlyn Sawicki (Factoryville, PA/Lackawanna Trail) in the game two setback.
   
Keystone will look to get back into the win column on Saturday afternoon when they host Notre Dame of Maryland University in a Colonial States Athletic Conference doubleheader starting at 1:00 p.m. at Edmunds Field.  Prior to the games, the Giants will honor the team's four seniors: Hropovich, Sawicki, Worobey, and Sara Schraden (Allentown, PA/William Allen).