2 minute read
Mercyhurst Softball: Not So Soft
By Christina Judy Staff writer
The Mercyhurst Women’s Softball team conquered the West Liberty Hilltoppers on Saturday, March 4 to kick start their competitive weekend in North Carolina.
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The Lakers’ 8-0 victory over West Liberty started with their winning attitudes as they came out of the dugout with high energy.
They started with an early lead when senior Brianne Egelston doubled to left field allowing senior Madison Fry to score the first run for the Lakers.
Just moments later, Junior Kaci Alderson stepped up to bat with determination as she struck the ball and gave it enough power to make it over the fence in left-center field. This play let Cheyenne Hindman, a graduate student from Harrisville, PA, score a run which increased the Lakers lead to 3-0.
Mercyhurst was merciless in the second inning as they sought to widen the gap in the score. Egelston continued her selfless playing as she doubled yet again, which gave her teammates Anna O’Geen and Eliza Reynold the opportunity to run it in for two additional points.
Senior Allison Dejidas carried her team’s excitement as she went up to the plate and hit a home run, extending the lead to 8-0.
Mikaela Schramski was impressive, pitching a complete game, with six strikeouts and only three hits allowed. That score remained closed out the game and to give the Lakers a strong start for the weekend. Mercyhurst came back to face off West Liberty on Sunday, March 5, to finish off their weekend in North Carolina. The 10-0 Laker victory was a tribute to their offense which started the game ablaze.
Freshman Francesca Latino started her team off on the right path in the second inning with two runs.
Neena Pietripaolo continued this momentum by extending the score to 3-0 with her RBI single.
Pietripaolo enhanced her standout performance in the fourth inning with another RBI single, allowing Latino to move ahead to third base.
Dejidas and O’Geen wanted to take part in the action and earned themselves RBI singles in the fourth and fifth innings. Senior Madison Fry contributed as well with her own RBI single in the fifth inning to boost the Laker lead.
Pietripaolo decided she was not done with her outstanding performance and came back to earn herself an RBI single that brought in O’Geen.
As in their first matchup with West Liberty, the Lakers defense stood tall, not allowing the Hilltoppers to score even a single run in either game. Hindman was still playing to win though, as she had a two-RBI single in the fifth inning to award her team a 10-0 defeat over West Liberty.
The Lakers have had a tough schedule packed with away games to begin their 2023 season.
Despite the travel, they have been holding their own with an overall record of 6-8. Surely, they will be looking forward to stepping onto their home field to play against Lake Erie College on Tuesday, March 21.
After that, Mercyhurst will hit the road again and will not return to their home field until Friday, March 31, for a pair of games against the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown.