Baltimore, Md. – Keystone College's softball team snapped an eight-game losing streak in a big way on Saturday, outscoring host Notre Dame of Maryland University 35-9 on its way to a sweep of the Colonial States Athletic Conference doubleheader. The Giants, who won by scores of 15-5 and 20-4, both in five innings, lift their record to 9-17 this spring and 4-8 in league play while the Gators fall to 7-13 overall and 3-9 in the CSAC.
Game 1 Keystone took a 1-0 lead in their first at-bats of Saturday's opener on an RBI triple by
Lindsey Bucklaw (Carbondale, PA/Carbondale Area), but Notre Dame when ahead 2-1 in their first trip to the plate in the bottom half of the frame. The Giants countered with seven runs on seven hits and two errors in the visitor's third to open up an 8-2 lead.
Emily Long (Shamokin, PA/Our Lady of Lourdes Regional) and Bucklaw had RBI hits before
Ryleigh Fitch (Springville, PA/Tunkhannock) connected on a two-run single down the left field line.
Antonette Scialpi (Hughestown, PA/Pittston Area) then scored before
Katie Thompson (Nazareth, PA/Nazareth Area) hit a two-run double to give the Giants the six-run advantage.
Notre Dame scored three runs on three hits and two errors in the home third to cut their deficit to 8-5, but Keystone pushed its lead to 10-5 with a pair of runs in the fourth as
Kimberly Rivera (New York, NY/South Bronx Campus) scored on an RBI groundout by Fitch before
Samantha Monetti (Toms River, NJ/Toms River North) hit an RBI single up the middle.
The Giants closed out the scoring by plating five runs on six hits and four errors in the top of the fifth inning.
Sarah Stacey (Shickshinny, PA/Lake-Lehman) and Long had RBI hits before Long came home on a wild pitch. Fitch and
Kaylee Hartman (Red Bank, NJ/Red Bank Regional) followed with RBI singles to drive in the final two runs for the visitors.
Alyssa Hughes (Sellersville, PA/Pennridge) allowed two runs on three hits and struck out one in 1.1 innings before handing the ball off to
Emily Faulkner (Laceyville, PA/Wyalusing Valley), who picked up the win with four strikeouts and three runs against in the final 3.2 innings in the circle.
All nine Keystone position players collected at least two hits in the game with Long and Rivera leading the way with three hits apiece. Fitch drove in a game-high four runs for the Giants, who outhit the Gators by a 20-7 margin in the game one win.
Madison King tossed a complete game for Notre Dame, who got two hits and two RBIs from Wendi Winkelman in the loss.
Game 2 Keystone again took a lead in their first at-bats in Saturday's nightcap on an RBI triple by Long, but Notre Dame leveled the contest in their half of the first. The Giants plated three runs in the top of the second as Thompson delivered an RBI base hit before Stacey drove in a pair with a two-run triple to give the Giants a 4-1 advantage.
After the Gators got two runs back in the home second, Keystone took advantage of five hits and two errors to score seven runs in the visitor's third to open up a 11-3 lead. Fitch had an RBI single before Scialpi scored on an error. Fitch came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Hartman before Stacy hit an RBI double. Thompson scored when Long reached on an error before Bucklaw delivered a two-run single.
Hartman drove in
Nicole Shay (Thompson, PA/Susquehanna Community) with a single in the fourth inning before the Gators got a run back in the bottom of the frame to make it a 13-4 ballgame, but Keystone plated seven runs on nine hits in the top of the seventh to pull away for good. Rivera and Scialpi had RBI hits before
Breelyn Johnson-Fite (Bogota, NJ/Bergen County Technical) hit a two-run double. Thompson, Stacey, and Bucklaw each followed with RBI singles to close out the scoring.
Faulkner tosses a complete game for the Giants to pick up her second win of the day, striking out five batters while allowing three earned runs on eight hits. Keystone, who outhit Notre Dame 21-8 in game two, were paced by Thompson's four hits and three hits apiece from Stacey, Bucklaw, and Scialpi with Stacey collecting a game-high four RBIs.
Tawny Cevora threw a complete game for the Gators and led the hosts with three hits in the game two loss.
Up Next Keystone will host Rosemont College in a CSAC doubleheader on Sunday afternoon. First pitch between the Giants and Ravens is set for 2:00 p.m. at Edmunds Field.
