READING, Pa. – Ursinus concluded its non-conference slate with a split at Alvernia on Tuesday, riding a three-hit shutout from sophomore Kaitlyn Willis to a 7-0 victory in the opener before the Crusaders overturned a six-run deficit and walked off with an 8-7 decision in the second game.

Freshman Kayla Quinn went 5-for-8 with two doubles, two runs, and an RBI on the afternoon for Ursinus (15-19), stretching her streak of multi-hit games to seven and raising her team-leading batting average to .404. Sophomore Rachel Hyman finished 5-for-8 and scored three runs, while freshman Alexa DelMonte was 3-for-8 with a run and doubled her previous season total with two RBI.  

Willis (8-8) was dominant in the opener, her second complete-game shutout and the fifth start this season in which she did not allow an earned run. The sophomore ace retired 15 straight after a leadoff single in the bottom of the second, and did not concede another hit until Mckenzie Miessau singled through the left side with one out in the seventh. That put two Crusaders on base, but Willis preserved her clean sheet with a lineout and pop-up.

Willis' latest gem lowered her ERA to a Centennial Conference-leading 2.25. The last Bear to lead the conference in ERA was Lauren Davis-Macedonia, the league's all-time leader in career ERA, who accomplished the feat in 2010.

With Willis making a first-inning run stand up, the Bears' offense came out of hibernation in the later innings, beginning with a four-run sixth. Senior Zoe Heinke and sophomore Rachel Hyman began the rally with back-to-back base hits and, after freshman Gabrielle Manto walked to load the bases, first-years Sammi Donato and Quinn followed with consecutive RBI singles to open up a 3-0 lead. Two batters later, freshman Callie Crouse connected for a two-run single to swell the margin to 5-0.

The Bears added two more for good measure in the seventh, one coming home on a wild pitch and the other scoring courtesy of Donato's sacrifice fly.

Crouse busted out of an 0-for-12 slump in a big way, going 2-for-4 with her second career triple and a career-best three RBI; her three-bagger scored Quinn with the game's first run. Donato was 2-for-3 with a run scored and drove in two runs, while Quinn (2-for-4, RBI, run), Hyman (2-for-4, run), and freshman Alexa DelMonte (2-for4, run) all delivered multiple hits.

Ursinus picked up right where it left off in the nightcap. Quinn led off the game with a single, stole second, and went to third on a hit by sophomore Bridget Winay. Both came around to score on Alvernia miscues, Quinn on a throwing error and Winay on a wild pitch. Three batters later, DelMonte smoked a two-run double down the right-field line, making it 4-0 Bears and sending Alvernia starter Kayla Andrews to an early exit.

In the circle for her second start of the season, Quinn gave up a leadoff homer to Brianna DePriest in the first but settled down to retire the next six batters she faced before the game was interrupted by a lightning delay in the top of the third.

After waiting out the stoppage, the Bears continued to add to their lead with three two-out markers. After Donato's RBI infield single with the bases loaded, a throwing error allowed two more to score as Ursinus broke open a 7-1 lead.

The Crusaders put their first four on base and scored twice to start the fourth, forcing Zoe Heinke into action in relief. The senior walked the first batter she faced but did her best to limit the damage, as consecutive groundouts netted two more runs for the home side, which trailed 7-5 at the end of the frame. But Alvernia tied the game with two runs in the sixth and walked off with another in the seventh.

Hyman (3-for-4, two runs) and Quinn (3-for-4, run) continued their hot hitting in Game Two, and Heinke had two hits of her own.

The Bears close out the regular season with a Centennial Conference doubleheader at Swarthmore on Saturday, April 30.