OWINGS MILLS, MD- The Keystone College softball team showed fight throughout both games of its United East Conference-opening doubleheader on Saturday afternoon, but ultimately came up short against Notre Dame of Maryland, falling 5-1 in game one and 13-10 in a high-scoring game two.
Game One: (Notre Dame of Maryland 5,Keystone 1)
Keystone battled throughout the opener but could not overcome a four-run fourth inning by the host Gators in a 5-1 loss.Notre Dame got on the board in the bottom of the first before adding a solo home run in the third to make it 2-0. The Gators then used three hits in the fourth inning to stretch the lead to 5-0.
The Giants broke through in the top of the sixth inning when Isabella Benitez (East Windsor, N.J./Hightstown) singled and later came around to score on an RBI single from Emily Schultz (Tunkhannock, Pa./Tunkhannock Area), cutting the deficit to 5-1. Keystone also threatened in the seventh, putting the tying run on deck after singles from Clara Sandly (Taylor, Pa./Riverside) and Bianca Markovitch (Scranton, Pa./West Scranton), but Notre Dame was able to hold on.
Schultz led Keystone offensively in the opener, finishing 2-for-3 with the team's lone RBI. Benitez, Sandly, and Markovitch each added a hit, while Aimee Lyons (Ajax, ON/Pickering) went the distance in the circle, pitching six innings.
Game Two: (Notre Dame of Maryland 13, Keystone 10)
The Giants answered with an offensive surge in game two, piling up 13 hits and 10 runs, but a nine-run third inning from Notre Dame proved too much to overcome in a back-and-forth contest. Keystone struck first with a two-run second inning. Isabella Benitez (East Windsor, N.J./Hightstown) tripled to open the frame and later scored, while Amaia Smith (Berlin, N.J./Overbrook) followed with an RBI double to put the Giants ahead 2-0. After Notre Dame got one back in the bottom half of the inning, the Gators erupted for nine runs in the third to take a 10-2 advantage.
The Giants responded with three runs in the fourth inning, highlighted by a two-run double from Clara Sandly (Taylor, Pa./Riverside). Keystone then exploded for four more runs in the sixth to pull within one at 10-9. Shalimar Lopez Ramirez (Baltimore, Md./Perry Hall) drove in a run with a single, Briana Aponte (El Paso, Tex./Chapin) ripped a two-run double, and Emily Schultz (Tunkhannock, Pa./Tunkhannock Area) followed with an RBI double to cap the rally.
Notre Dame answered with three runs in the bottom of the sixth to create breathing room, but Keystone refused to go quietly. Smith delivered an RBI single in the seventh to score Benitez and bring the Giants within three, but the comeback bid ended there.
Benitez had a huge afternoon in game two, going 3-for-4 with three runs scored and a triple. Smith helped her own cause with a 3-for-4 effort, two doubles, two RBI, and a run scored. Aponte finished 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI, while Sandly added a double and two RBI. Schultz, Lopez Ramirez, Krista Cortazar (Throop, Pa./Mid Valley), and Bianca Markovitch (Scranton, Pa./West Scranton) also contributed hits in the offensive effort.
Keystone looks to bounce back against Lancaster Bible College as the team continues their road trip on April 1 in a United East Conference doubleheader. The Giants take a break for the holiday before jumping back into action on April 7 against Cedar Crest College.
