IMMACULATA, Pa. – The Ursinus softball team split a non-conference doubleheader with Immaculata, losing 12-2 in five innings before winning 4-1 in the second game.
Senior Kaitlyn Willis earned the victory by tossing a complete game, giving up one run on three hits and striking out 10 Mighty Macs. In the process, she became the fifth player in school history to reach 300 strikeouts for her career.
Junior Sammi Donato swung a hot bat for the Bears (11-11). Donato collected a pair of hits in each game, going 4-for-5 with two doubles, two runs and a RBI on the day.
Game 1: Immaculata 12, Ursinus 2 (5)
The Mac scored 11 runs on 11 hits in the third inning to down the Bears. Immaculata sent 14 batters to the plate in the inning, and Keani Hindle hit a pair of 2-run homer runs in the frame.
Before the big bottom half, the Bears tied the game when freshman Morgan Comfort singled to score Donato, who had reached base with a double. Ursinus then scored in the fifth when freshman Amanda Ladzinski knocked in Donato for her second run of the game.
Emma Bischoff (7-3) earned the win with five innings of work giving up two runs on six hits, a walk and striking out five.
Game 2: Ursinus 4, Immaculata 1
Willis held down the Macs with fabulous pitching, giving up a lone run in the seventh while striking out 10 hitters.
The Bears controlled the game from the start. Ursinus started the scoring in the first as junior Callie Crouse singled home Comfort to lead 1-0. In the fourth inning, freshman Christina Wentz doubled to score junior Gabrielle Manto for her first career RBI.
Ursinus got back on the board with two more insurance runs in the sixth. Sophomore Renee LeClerc singled home Manto and Donato doubled to score Wentz, improving the Bears' advantage 4-0 over the Macs.
Immaculata's Hindle hit a homer in the seventh to cap off her solid day at the plate. She led the Macs (12-10) by going 4-for-5 with three home runs, five runs batted in and scoring four runs combined in the two games.
Willis, who notched her 36th career victory, struck out the side in the second to kick off a span of seven strikeouts in eight batters. Included in that remarkable stretch was her milestone strikeout as she fanned Jessica Bormann to end the third, making her the 19th pitcher in Centennial Conference history to reach 300.
Crouse (2-for-4, RBI), Manto (2-for-4, two runs), Wentz (2-for-3, run, RBI), and Donato (2-for-3, RBI) each posted a pair of hits in the nightcap.
Up Next
Ursinus gets back into CC action with a doubleheader at first-place Gettysburg on Saturday.