CLERMONT, Fla. – For the second straight day, the Ursinus College softball team pounded out 27 hits in a doubleheader sweep, routing Lebanon Valley and Mount Union to run its winning streak to five games.
Freshmen Morgan Comfort and Heather Lazer and junior Samantha Garritano all hit home runs for Ursinus (5-3), which downed the Dutchmen, 10-1, in six innings before finishing the day with a 12-1 final over the Purple Raiders.
Comfort starred in the Bears' second consecutive sweep, driving in seven runs while scoring three out of the leadoff spot and pitching a complete-game gem in the nightcap. Senior Kaitlyn Willis combined with Comfort to allow just eight hits and two runs between the two contests.
Game 1: Ursinus 10, Lebanon Valley 1 (6 innings)
Ursinus jumped on top of the Dutchmen with three first-inning runs, all with two outs. Junior Sammi Donato brought home two with a double, and sophomore Renee LeClerc made it 3-0 with an RBI single.
Junior Faith Carson's RBI double in the third tacked on another run to the Bears' lead, but Lebanon Valley got it back with a two-out single in the top of the fourth.
Junior Kayla Quinn, who went 4-for-4 in yesterday's win over Saint Vincent, made it seven hits in as many at-bats with an RBI single in the fifth, and Carson followed two batters later with a sacrifice fly.
The Bears finished this one off early. An error allowed LeClerc – who opened the seventh with a single – to score and make it 7-1, and Willis drew a walk to put two on. Comfort ended it with a three-run blast, her second homer of the trip and first career walk-off.
Comfort finished 2-for-4 with two runs at the top of the lineup, with Quinn going 3-for-3 with an RBI and a run right behind her. Carson was 2-for-2 with two RBI, and LeClerc posted a 2-for-3 morning with an RBI and a run scored.
Willis (2-2) threw another gem, this time allowing one run on four hits with six strikeouts.
Game 2: Ursinus 12, Mount Union 1
After a pair of scoreless innings, Garritano got the Bears going with a two-run double in the third, plating juniors Kayla Quinn and Gabrielle Manto.
Ursinus broke it wide open in the fourth. Lazer drew a leadoff walk, junior Callie Crouse singled, and freshman Megan Hasulak moved both up a base with a sacrifice bunt. Junior Gabrielle Manto followed with an RBI double, and Comfort delivered a two-run single through the right side.
After a foul-out, Garritano blasted a two-run homer to left field – the second of her career – to make it 7-0 in favor of the Bears.
Lazer opened the fifth with a double and later scored on Manto's sacrifice fly to give Ursinus an 8-0 lead, but the Purple Raiders avoided the mercy rule with their first run in the bottom half of the frame.
A pair of rookies combined for another big blow in the seventh. Delaney Baker singled to left ahead of Lazer, who sent a deep fly over the wall in center field for her first career home run and a 10-1 advantage. Another first-year player, Christina Wentz, got her first collegiate hit on a one-out double to set up a two-run single by Comfort.
Garritano continued her torrid hitting with a 3-for-4 performance that included two extra-base knocks and four RBI. Comfort matched her with four RBI of her own, with Lazer (2-for-2, three runs two RBI) and Manto (2-for-2, two runs, two RBI) providing plenty of support.
Freshmen Amanda Ladzinski and Michela Coleman joined Wentz in posting their first career hits. The Bears finished with 17, one shy of their season high from yesterday's rout of Saint Vincent.
Ursinus hit multiple home runs in a game for just the second time in the last five seasons. The Bears have four round-trippers in the first eight games, more than their entire season output from each of the past three years.
Comfort moved to 3-0 with another efficient pitching performance. She threw a complete game, her second in three starts, allowing only four hits.
Up Next
The Bears take Friday off before concluding their spring trip with games against Dominican (Ill.) and Gordon on Saturday.