Edwardsville, Pa. – Trailing 6-1 and down to their final two outs, Keystone College rallied with seven runs in the top of the seventh inning to defeat host Wilkes University 8-6 in game two of a non-conference softball doubleheader as the Giants earned split of the twin bill after the Colonels won the opener 9-1 in five innings.
Keystone now sports a 9-17 overall record on the year while Wilkes sits at 20-10 this spring.
Game 1
Wilkes took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning of Wednesday's first game with an RBI double followed by a run-scoring wild pitch.
Keystone cut its deficit in half in the top of the fourth inning as
Shannon Lloyd (King of Prussia, Pa./Archbishop John Carroll) singled through the right side to bring home
Ashley Constable (Bangor, Pa./Bangor Area), but the Colonels got that run back in their half of the frame by scoring another run on a wild pitch to claim a 3-1 advantage.
Wilkes would walk off with the run-rule victory in the bottom of the fifth inning by scoring six runs on six hits to claim the 9-1 win.
Celine Podlesney pick up the win for the Colonels after tossing a complete game with one run against on three hits while striking out six batters.
Lacey Bixler and Gracen Staunton had two hits apiece to lead Wilkes, who outhit Keystone by a 9-3 margin in the game. Bixler drove in a game-high three runs for the Colonels.
Constable suffered the loss in the circle for the Giants after allowing seven runs on six hits while striking out one batter in four innings of work before being relieved by
Abby Aniska (Scott Township, Pa./Lakeland), who was charged with two runs on three hits.
Constable, Lloyd, and
Ryleigh Fitch (Springville, Pa./Tunkhannock Area) accounted for Keystone's three hits in the contest.
Game 2
Keystone took a 1-0 lead in their first at-bats of Wednesday's nightcap as
Emily Long (Shamokin, Pa./Our Lady of Lourdes Regional) drove in
Kaylee Hartman (Red Bank, N.J./Red Bank Regional) with a sacrifice fly in the top of the first inning, but Wilkes scored a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the first inning to claim a 2-1 edge.
The Colonels plated four runs on six hits in the home third to open up a 6-1 advantage and the score remained that way until the top of the seventh inning when the Giants scored seven runs on four hits and three errors to rally for the win.
Antonette Scialpi (Hughestown, Pa./Pittston Area) started the rally by singling home Lloyd before Fitch and Long both came home on an error on a ball put into play by
Hunter Schantz (Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom) to cut Keystone's deficit to 6-4.
Shannon Dermont (Scranton, Pa./West Scranton) then tied the game with a two-run double down the right field line before coming home with the eventual game-winning run on another error as Hartman reached on a fielder's choice.
Mariah Loughney (Jermyn, Pa./Lakeland) drove in
Alysa Beyers (Stroudsburg, Pa./Pocono Mountain East) with an RBI groundout to close out the scoring.
Aniska took a no-decision after surrendering four earned runs on eight hits while striking out one batter in 2.2 innings of work.
Jordan Hodle (Plymouth, Pa./Lake-Lehman) claimed the win in relief, tossing 4.1 scoreless innings with a pair of K's and five hits against.
Schantz led Keystone with a pair of hits as all nine Giants' batters picked up at least one hit in the win.
Nicole Cumbo took a no-decision after allowing two runs on six hits while striking out five batters in 4.2 innings pitched. Erika Gerace was charged with the loss after surrendering six runs on four hits in 2.1 innings for the Colonels, who got three hits and two RBI from Christina Gambino in the loss.
The hosts held a 13-10 advantage in hits in the nightcap.
Up Next
Keystone will travel to Neumann University on Friday afternoon for a Colonial States Athletic Conference doubleheader starting at 3:00 p.m. in Aston, Pennsylvania.
