CLERMONT, Fla. – After struggling at the plate in the first four games of its spring trip, the Ursinus College softball team brought out the bats in a big way on Wednesday, sweeping a doubleheader to run its winning streak to three.
The Bears, who had hit just .165 as a team entering the day, topped Mount Ida, 5-2, in the morning session before racking up 18 hits in a 9-4 defeat of Saint Vincent. Junior Kayla Quinn had four of them, a career high, while classmate Samantha Garritano was 5-for-8 with three RBI and three runs scored on the day.
Senior Kaitlyn Willis tossed a complete game in the opener for her first win of the season.
Game 1: Ursinus 5, Mount Ida 2
Two clutch hits from Garritano and a bevy of miscues by the Mustangs helped the Bears open the day on a high note.
Freshman Morgan Comfort walked and stole second to lead off the first, then came home with the game's first run on junior Faith Carson's two-out RBI single.
That was the only earned run allowed by Mount Ida, which was done in by six errors. Half of those errors came on consecutive plays in the third as Ursinus took a 2-0 lead, all the damage being done with two outs.
The Mustangs tied the game with two runs in the bottom half, but back came the Bears in the fourth. Back-to-back errors to open the inning set the table for RBI singles by Comfort and Garritano, the latter coming with two outs. Garritano added another two-out RBI single in the sixth.
Willis was excellent in the opener, conceding two runs on seven hits with a walk and two strikeouts. She has given up two earned runs or less in each of her first four starts.
Garritano finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Freshman Delaney Baker singled in the seventh for her first career hit.
Game 2: Ursinus 9, Saint Vincent 4
Six different Bears had multiple hits as the Bears matched their highest team total since 2009. Quinn was at the head of the pack, going 4-for-4 with a double, three runs scored, and an RBI. Garritano finished 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs, Comfort went 2-for-4 and scored twice, and junior Callie Crouse (3-for-4) matched a career high with three hits.
After falling behind 1-0, Ursinus went right to work in the bottom of the first. Comfort kicked off a three-run frame with an infield single, and back-to-back bunt hits by Quinn and Garritano, combined with a throwing error, allowed the tying run to score. Carson's sacrifice fly gave the Bears the lead for good, and freshman Heather Lazer roped an RBI double into left field to make it 3-1.
The Bears tacked on two more in the second, both with two outs, as Quinn plated junior Gabrielle Manto with an infield hit, stole second, and sprinted home on Garritano's base knock down the right-field line.
The Bearcats inched closer with single runs in the third, fourth, and fifth to pull within 6-4, but the top of the Bears' order made sure it got no closer than that. Comfort led off with a double in the sixth, went to third on Quinn's single, and scored on Garritano's RBI single to left. Garritano stole second, and a throwing error permitted Quinn to come home and make it 8-4. Junior Sammi Donato's sacrifice fly capped the scoring.
Lazer was 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI, while senior Rachel Hyman finished 2-for-4 with a run-scoring single in the third.
In addition to her first career four-hit performance, Quinn stole two bases and helped turn a double play.
Comfort (2-0) pitched five solid innings, allowing four runs – three earned – on six hits with four walks and a pair of strikeouts. She worked out of a major jam in the first, walking in a run with the bases loaded and just one out before retiring the side on a flyout and strikeout.
Sophomore Jennifer Hammons closed with two scoreless frames of relief.
Up Next
The Bears oppose Lebanon Valley and Mount Union on Thursday. First pitch against the Dutchmen is set for 9 a.m.