CARLISLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College softball team closed out the 2017 season on a high note, sweeping Dickinson on the road behind back-to-back pitching masterpieces by junior Kaitlyn Willis.
Willis allowed one run on four hits in a 4-1 victory in the opener and spun a three-hit shutout in the nightcap, which the Bears (17-19, 7-9) won 5-0 to finish with the exact same record as last season.
Sophomore Samantha Garritano was 4-for-7 with two RBI to lead Ursinus' offense, finishing fourth in the CC with a .383 batting average and ranking second with 24 RBI.
Game 1: Ursinus 4, Dickinson 1
Willis struck out seven without a walk and permitted Dickinson (10-26, 5-11) just one hit over the first five innings.
Her dominance was much needed for a Bears offense that did not get untracked until the top of the fifth, when back-to-back two-out singles by sophomore Kayla Quinn and Garritano brought home the first two runs of the game.
Dickinson halved the deficit with a single run in the sixth, but sophomore Faith Carson provided some critical insurance with a two-run single with two outs in the seventh. Willis retired the Red Devils in order in the seventh.
Garritano finished 3-for-4 with three RBI, while Quinn reached base three times, scoring twice and driving in one more.
Game 2: Ursinus 5, Dickinson 0
Willis helped her own cause with an RBI double in the top of the second for Ursinus, which scored twice apiece in the fifth and sixth to pull away for good. Garritano and Carson had consecutive RBI singles in the fifth, a rally that started when Quinn drew a two-out walk and stole second.
In the sixth, sophomore Gabrielle Manto opened with a double before freshman Renee LeClerc and Quinn sandwiched run-scoring hits around a single by sophomore Sammi Donato.
Willis (14-9) allowed only one base-runner to reach second, which came in the seventh. She struck out four and walked two.
Garritano and Carson each went 2-for-4 with an RBI, and Manto finished 2-for-4 with a run. LeClerc and Willis each scored one run and drove home another.