COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College softball team dropped its home opener on Saturday, losing both ends of a doubleheader with Susquehanna.
In the first game, Susquehanna scored its lone run in the fifth in a 1-0 win over the Bears, while in game two the Crusaders (10-4) defeated the 16th-ranked Bears (8-2) 5-1.
In the opener, sophomore Courtney Miller scored the game-winning run on a hit by sophomore Lisa Finizio. That would be enough for junior pitcher Cara Swerdlow, as she scattered three hits over seven innings while striking out six
Senior pitcher Lauren Davis-Macedonia (Mullica Hill, N.J./Clearview Regional) took the loss, striking out seven and walking just one in a complete-game.
For the Bears, junior infielder Kristin Gallagher (Newtown Square, Pa./Marple Newtown) was 2-for-3.
In game two, Susquehanna took a 2-0 after four innings as the Crusaders got an RBI triple from junior infielder Brennan Balfour with one out. Balfour would later score on a RBI single from senior catcher Kelli Holota.
Ursinus cut the deficit to 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth as junior outfielder Liz Lowes (Manasquan, N.J./Manasquan) scored on a RBI single by freshman infielder Kelli Jerdan (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan).
Susquehanna put three runs on the board in the sixth as Balfour hit a homerun, followed by a RBI hits from junior infielder Taylor Crawford and junior infielder Shelly Landis.
Swerdlow got the win, going four innings and allowing just two hits. Freshman pitcher Sara Hoffman got the save, striking out one in two innings of work.
For Ursinus, freshman pitcher Jennilyn Weber (Valley View, Pa./Tri-Valley) took the loss, falling to 1-1. She struck out three in five innings of work, while freshman pitcher Taylor Zelitsky (Wanaque, N.J./Lakeland Regional) pitched two innings in relief.