SCRANTON, Pa. - The Keystone College softball team earned a non-conference split at the University of Scranton on Tuesday, winning the opener, 4-2, in eight innings, before falling 13-0 in five frames at Magis Field.
The Giants are now 6-4 on the year and will play at Wilkes University tomorrow, starting at 4 p.m. The Royals improve to 8-5 and play at No. 15 Moravian University (12-2) on Saturday, March 26 in Landmark Conference action.
This was the first win for Keystone against Scranton since April 26, 2015 (W, 10-9).
Game One: Keystone 4, Scranton 2 (8 innings)
Despite being limited to just two hits, the Giants took advantage of three Scranton errors and scored twice in the sixth and eighth innings for the opening win.
The contest was scoreless until the fifth inning when the Royals claimed a 1-0 edge. In the sixth, Kabrina Birmingham (Burlington, N.J./Burlington City) scored on an error and Erin Dunn (Centermoreland, Pa./Tunkhannock) later scored thanks to a sacrifice fly by Brooke Staple (Carbondale, Pa./Carbondale Area) as Keystone took a 2-1 advantage.
Scranton knotted the contest up at 2-2 in the seventh thanks to a two-out double. In extras, Birmingham ripped a double to left to score Elle Olivero (Levittown, Pa./Harry S. Truman) for the go-ahead run and eventually scored the insurance run on a wild pitch.
In the bottom of the eighth, Courtney Cienki (West Milford, N.J./West Milford) forced a popout, enjoyed a fielder's choice to get a runner out at home, and ended the contest on another popout.
Cienki went the distance for her third win of the spring, tossing all eight innings, needing 129 pitches. The righty struck out seven and forced nine flyouts and eight groundouts.
Game Two: Scranton 13, Keystone 0 (5 innings)
The Royals outhit the Giants 14-1 in the nightcap, scoring four runs in the second and seven more in the third.
Jordan Frye (Cheltenham, Pa./St. Hubert Catholic) had the lone hit for Keystone, a single through the left side in the top of the fourth.
In the circle, Amber Stansfield (Levittown, Pa./Conwell-Egan Catholic) and Hannah Dickson (Salisbury, Md./James M. Bennett) combined for five flyouts and seven groundouts.
For Scranton, Jessica Indelicato went 3-for-3 with three runs and two RBI. Sarah Stepnowski and Jennifer Sweeney both finished with three RBI.
