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Game 1 Box Score
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Game 2 Box Score
CALIFORNIA (April 11) – Sophomore third baseman
Danielle Easton (Hanover, Pa./South Western) belted a pair of homers in Game 1 on Saturday, as the No. 17 California University of Pennsylvania softball team split a doubleheader against East Stroudsburg University. The Vulcans won 8-2 in the first game before losing 7-6 in the nightcap.
With the split, Cal U has won five of last six games to move to 27-5 overall, while East Stroudsburg holds an 18-15 overall record.
After the Warriors took a 2-0 lead in the top half of the first, the Vulcans scored three runs on three hits in the bottom of the inning, 3-2. With runners on first and second, freshman shortstop
Jillian Russell (London, Ontario/St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic) posted a RBI double before Easton evened the score with a sacrifice fly. Freshman designated hitter
Kristen McKenzie (Senneville, Quebec/St. Thomas) followed with a two-out RBI single.
Easton increased the Cal U lead to 4-2 when she belted a solo homer to centerfield. In the sixth, Easton again started an inning with a longball (fourth of the season). The Vulcans added the final three runs of the inning on one hit, two walks, an error and a sacrifice fly.
Sophomore pitcher
Maria Greco (Pickering, Ontario/Notre Dame Catholic) entered the game in the second inning and earned the win after throwing six innings of scoreless relief. She allowed only one baserunner on a fifth-inning single. Greco also recorded five strikeouts and issued no walks.
In the nightcap, Russell gave Cal U a 2-0 lead in the first on a two-run single. The Vulcans expanded their lead to 4-0 in the third with back-to-back solo homers by freshman catcher
Alyson Johnson (Waynesburg, Pa./Waynesburg Central) and Russell. Later in the inning, Burke drove in Easton with a RBI single.
East Stroudsburg answered in the fourth with a three-run homer by first baseman Kerri Jakobsen to make the score 5-3. The Warriors then evened the score at 5-5 in sixth before claiming a 7-5 lead in the seventh on five hits and one walk. In the bottom of the inning, Russell and Easton leadoff with back-to-back singles before Russell was eliminated on a fielder’s choice. After a flyout, junior first baseman
Julia Mueller (Bairdford, Pa./Deer Lakes) lined a RBI single up the middle that scored Russell to make the score 7-6. However, the game ended on the play when McKenzie was called out at third.
Greco (11-3) suffered the loss in Game 2, allowing four runs on eight hits in 3.1 innings of relief. Junior Jackie Battaglino (9-6) tossed a complete game and allowed six runs on 14 hits in 7.0 innings with two strikeouts.
Russell led the offense in the nightcap, going 4-for-4 with three RBI and one run scored. Easton went 3-for-3 with one double and two runs scored in the game.
Cal U returns to action with a road doubleheader on Tuesday, April 14 at Slippery Rock University. The first game is slated for a 2:30 p.m. start.