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Box Score
CALIFORNIA (April 24) – In a battle of Top 25 programs, the No. 24 California University of Pennsylvania softball team claimed a 2-0 victory over No. 18 Bloomsburg University at Lilly Field on Friday in a double-elimination flight of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship Tournament.
With the victory, the Vulcans improve to 33-6 overall and will again face the Huskies (31-8) in tomorrow’s Game 4 of the tournament at 1 p.m. If necessary, the two teams will again play at 3 p.m. with the winner advancing to next weekend’s three-team, single-elimination PSAC Championship at a site still to be determined.
Sophomore
Maria Greco (Pickering, Ontario/Notre Dame Catholic) and junior
Sonia Petrosoniak (Mississauga, Ontario/Clarkson) combined for the seven-inning shutout. Greco worked 6.2 innings before Petrosoniak registered the final out of the inning with the bases loaded.
Greco improves to 15-3 this season after scattering four hits in 6.2 innings. She issued only one walk and registered six strikeouts. The junior right-hander didn’t allow a hit through the first 4.2 innings of the game.
Petrosoniak earned her second save of the season after inducing the game-ending groundout with the bases loaded.
The Vulcans took a 1-0 lead in the second when junior first baseman
Julia Mueller (Bairdford, Pa. /Deer Lakes) belted a two-out, solo homer (fourth of the season; third in four games) to right-center field.
Cal U looked to increase its lead in the third when junior leftfielder
Kayleigh Braim (Macungie, Pa./Emmaus) reached third on a three-base error to open the inning. However, Bloomsburg pitcher Shavaun Fisher recorded back-to-back strikeouts before inducing a groundout to escape the inning without allowing a run.
The Vulcans added an insurance run in the fifth on a pair of hits, 2-0. Sophomore designated hitter
Merissa Daley (Whitby, Ontario/Sinclair) opened the inning with a single and stole second base. Daley then advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt before scoring on a RBI single by Braim.
After retiring 16 of the first 18 batters she faced, Greco allowed three-straight batters to reach base in the sixth before forcing a fly-out to end the inning. The Huskies continued to threaten in the seventh inning, eventually loading the bases before Petrosoniak registered a one-out save.
Daley went 2-for-3 with one double, while three other Vulcans collected one hit.
Fisher (14-3) suffered the loss for Bloomsburg, allowing two runs (both earned) on five hits in 7.0 innings with one walk and five strikeouts.
Notes:
The Huskies posed a pair of one-run victories against East Stroudsburg University to advance to tomorrow’s Game 4 … Bloomsburg won Game 1 by a score of 1-0 before claiming a 2-1 victory in extra-innings in Game 3.