COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Thanks to its relentless offense, no deficit mattered much to the Ursinus College softball team during Thursday's doubleheader against Elizabethtown. The Bears fell into early holes in both ends of the twin bill, but dug out of them with their first back-to-back double-digit hit totals since the first week of the season, and the end result was a pair of high-scoring triumphs, 6-5 and 9-7.
Several players turned in banner days at the plate for the Bears, who pounded out 26 hits between the two games. Ursinus (12-16) had 11 hits in the opener and 15 in the nightcap, making it two straight years with at least ten hits in both ends of a twin bill against Elizabethtown (11-21). The Bears did much of their damage in the clutch, scoring six of their runs with two outs.
Senior Zoe Heinke was 5-for-8 with three runs scored and two RBI on the day, while sophomores Rachel Hyman and Bridget Winay and freshman Samantha Garritano all finished 4-for-8; Hyman drove in five runs, Garritano scored five, and Winay registered four RBI of her own. Freshman Kayla Quinn went 3-for-5 with two RBI at the dish in addition to picking up her first career win on the mound in Game Two.
No lead was safe in the opener, as three runs from the Ursinus offense answered two by Elizabethtown in the first inning, a preview of a game filled with momentum swings.
After the Blue Jays scored twice before an out was recorded, the Bears answered right back in the bottom half. Unlike Elizabethtown, the home side did all of its damage with two outs, starting with Hyman's two-run single up the middle with the bases loaded that brought the tying runs home. Winay then bounced another base hit up the middle, giving Ursinus a 3-2 lead.
The Bears tacked on another run in the second courtesy of a throwing error, but a two-run triple by Emma Varrato pulled Elizabethtown even at 4 in the top of the fifth.
Ursinus regained the upper hand on Winay's single through the right side in the bottom of the frame, but the Blue Jays erased it on Megan Elmer's two-out knock in the top of the sixth. Back came the Bears' two-out magic, Hyman again providing the heroics with another single up the middle, this one plating Garritano with the go-ahead run. After two outs to open the frame, Ursinus put together three straight hits to start the winning rally.
The seesaw appeared to swing back in Elizabethtown's favor in the seventh, when two singles and a walk loaded the bases with only one out. But Heinke induced a routine grounder to third for a force at home, then got Marissa Kramer to fly out to center to evade the threat and lock down her third win of the year.
Amber Sergas (4-11) took the loss, surrendering six runs (five earned) on 11 hits in 5.2 innings.
Heinke (3-6) allowed five runs – only two of them earned – on nine hits in seven innings, striking out six with two walks in her fifth complete game of the year. Heinke is now just three strikeouts away from 200 for her career. She was also 2-for-4 at the plate and scored two runs just two days removed from notching her 100th career hit.
Hyman was the offensive star for the Bears, going 3-for-4 with a career-high three RBI. Winay finished 2-for-4 with two RBI, and sophomore Sarah Berardo (2-for-3) registered her first hits of the season in her first start behind the dish. Garritano scored a pair of runs.
The Bears trailed 4-0 in the second and 6-3 in the fifth inning during the nightcap, but relied on its opportunistic offense to carry the day. Winay's two-run single pulled Ursinus to within one run in the fifth, and the home side put the game away with a four-run sixth.
With two on and one out, Garritano dropped a base hit down in the right-field line, presumably loading the bases. But the Elizabethtown right fielder airmailed her throw back to the infield, allowing a run to score. Heinke made the Blue Jays pay with the go-ahead two-run single to center. Taking third on the throw to home plate, Heinke dashed home on Hyman's grounder to first, supplying the Bears a two-run cushion.
Quinn (1-1) worked the final three innings in relief of Winay (4 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 2 ER); the rookie allowed a run on four hits with two walks and two strikeouts. She also set the table for the offense, going 3-for-4 with two RBI from the leadoff spot.
Garritano had three hits and scored three runs, while Heinke joined her with three hits and drove in a pair of runs. Crouse was 2-for-4 with two runs, Winay finished 2-for-4 with two RBI, and Hyman registered two RBI of her own. Freshman Rachel Matricardi notched her first collegiate hit and played well behind the plate.
The Bears return to Snell Field to honor Heinke and Meredith Watters as part of Senior Day festivities before Saturday's Centennial Conference doubleheader with Muhlenberg.
