COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Their first walk-off Centennial Conference win in three years highlighted the Ursinus College softball team's doubleheader against Franklin & Marshall on Tuesday, with freshman Callie Crouse playing the hero's role in a 3-2 Game One win. The Diplomats bounced back with a 5-2 decision in the nightcap to relegate the Bears to their second consecutive league split.

Crouse's game-winning single in the bottom of the seventh gave Ursinus (8-10, 2-2) its first win against F&M (11-7, 1-3) since 2013, the same year the Bears walked off with a 5-4 thriller against Haverford.

What looked like a straightforward win behind the brilliant pitching of sophomore Kaitlyn Willis in the opener suddenly became an error- and tension-filled nail-biter. Leading 2-0 in the seventh, the Bears needed three outs to cement the shutout, but three errors conspired to put them in serious danger of conceding their edge. A fielding miscue allowed F&M to get the leadoff runner on board, and a base hit through the left side followed by a bobble in the outfield made it second and third with no outs.

The next batter, Megan Ryan, blooped a single into shallow center, scoring the lead runner, and an errant throw that bounded into the Diplomat dugout brought the tying run to the plate and moved Ryan up to third. With the go-ahead run just 60 feet away and nobody out, Willis bore down, inducing a shallow fly to right, a pop-up to short, and a lazy fly to center to escape with no further damage.

F&M took the Bears' gifts and gave them right back in the bottom half. Pitcher Katie Wenger was unable to corral a comebacker by freshman Brittany Gasser, who reached to start the frame. Freshman Sammi Donato laid down a bunt, and Gasser slid into second just ahead of the throw from third base. Fellow first-year Kayla Quinn dropped down a bunt of her own, and again F&M was late in its attempt to cut down the lead runner; this time, Wenger was unable to force Gasser at third.

That loaded the bases with no outs, and Crouse made sure Ursinus capitalized, bouncing a single through the left side and plating Gasser with the winning run.

Crouse drove in the Bears' second run of the afternoon, capping a two-run third with a perfectly placed liner off the chalk in right field. Donato singled with one out and took third on a base hit to right by Quinn. The Diplomats had Quinn caught in a rundown, but the freshman stayed alive long enough to allow Donato to sneak home with the game's first run. After going to second on the play, Quinn swiped third and scored on Crouse's looper down the line.

Crouse finished 2-for-4 with two RBI and freshman Samantha Garritano was 2-for-2 with a walk against Wenger, who came in 6-1 with a 1.76 ERA on the season.

Willis (5-3) struck out five in the first two innings and faced the minimum through four; Karly Newcomb singled in the third but was gunned down at second by Donato. The right-hander scattered five hits, walked one, and struck out six. Both of her runs were unearned as she registered her seventh complete game of the year.

Errors proved the Bears' undoing in Game Two, as a pair of third-inning miscues put the home side in a deep hole. Ryan's two-run double with two outs – after two errors had already extended the inning – staked F&M to a 3-0 lead.

Ursinus got two back right away in the bottom, as Gasser dashed home on an error and senior Zoe Heinke delivered a clutch two-out knock to score Quinn and cut the margin to one. But the Diplomats responded with a safety squeeze in the fourth and tacked on an insurance run with a two-out hit in the sixth.

The Bears threatened in the home half of the seventh, loading the bases with one out to bring the winning run to the plate, but Ryan struck out consecutive batters to shut it down and secure the split.

Heinke (2-for-3, RBI), Crouse (2-for-3), and sophomore Rachel Hyman (2-for-4) all had multiple hits, while Gasser walked twice and stole a base. Heinke (2-4) took the loss, conceding three runs – all unearned – in 2.2 frames. Quinn pitched the rest of the way.

Isabel Schaefer worked into the seventh to pick up the win for F&M, striking out two against two walks and seven hits. Ryan went 2-for-4 with two RBI at the dish and earned her first save of the season.

The Bears have a week off before rejoining Centennial Conference play with a doubleheader at Washington College on Tuesday, April 5.

Pictured: Crouse's game-winning single in the opener.