COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College softball team closed out its home season with a split of Sunday's non-conference doubleheader against Rutgers-Camden. The Bears rolled to a 7-1 victory in the opener before the Scarlet Raptors responded with a 7-0 shutout.
Ursinus (14-18) used timely hitting and a gem from senior Zoe Heinke to roll past the Scarlet Raptors (17-17) in the opener. Heinke picked up a complete-game win for the second time in as many days, surrendering just one run on four hits with six strikeouts, including the 200th of her career.
While Heinke was dealing, the offense went to work. Four Bears had at least two hits, led by a 4-for-4 performance from freshman Samantha Garritano, the first four-hit game of her career. Fellow rookie Alexa DelMonte produced a career-high three hits and scored a run, while first-year Kayla Quinn went 2-for-2 and scored twice. Sophomore Rachel Hyman finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, and freshman Gabrielle Manto had a two-run single in the bottom of the third.
Sophomore Bridget Winay's double to right center scored Quinn with the day's first run two batters into the bottom of the first, and Manto's two-out knock tripled the advantage. After Rutgers-Camden got on the board in the fourth, Garritano restored the three-run lead with a two-out RBI single in the fourth.
Hyman's RBI single in the sixth preceded another run that came around on an error, and Heinke punctuated the win with her sixth punch-out.
Heinke (5-6) collected her 19th career win and her 40th complete game in the final home start of her career.
The Bears tagged Abby Merryman (4-5) for 14 hits in 30 at-bats.
Ursinus registered eight hits in the second game, but was unable to push a run across against Scarlet Raptors starter Dannie Dinsfriend, who went the distance in her first start of the season.
Quinn (2-for-4) turned in two more hits in the nightcap, as did DelMonte (2-for-3), the first time of her career with consecutive multi-hit games.
Winay (1-3) took the loss, giving up seven runs (four earned) on eight hits in 4.1 innings. Quinn pitched very well in relief, conceding one hit and four walks with two strikeouts.
Merryman was 3-for-3 with a run in Game Two for Rutgers-Camden, which scored six runs in the top of the fifth to break open a one-run affair. The Scarlet Raptors had four hits in the frame and were helped along by two errors and a wild pitch.
Ursinus finished with a record of 9-5 at Snell Field, the team's best home mark since going 13-7 during the 2012 campaign.
The Bears close out the 2016 season with road trips to Alvernia on Tuesday and Swarthmore on Saturday.
