COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus softball team dropped both games in a non-conference doubleheader with Elizabethtown at Snell Field.
Highlighting the day for the Bears (11-17) was junior Callie Crouse, who hit her second home run in the last four games. Junior Gabrielle Manto registered her first collegiate triple.
Elizabethtown (15-9) shined on the mound, limiting the Bears to nine total hits in the twin bill.
Game 1: Elizabethtown 2, Ursinus 0
Elizabethtown generated runs in the fifth and sixth innings to edge past the Bears in the first game of the doubleheader.
Blue Jays pitcher Amber Sergas (6-5) threw a complete-game four-hitter, walking one and striking out six. At the plate, Sergas doubled and the game-winning run.
Senior Kaitlyn Willis was cruising until the fifth, when Sergas drove a double to the right-field fence to lead off the frame. With two outs, Jess Kutteroff doubled to left center, driving home Sergas to give the Blue Jays a 1-0 lead.
The Bears threatened in the fifth when freshman Amanda Ladzinski led off the frame with a double to left center. Ladzinski's hit was Ursinus' first base knock since registering two singles in the first inning. Senior Rachel Hyman bunted Ladzinski over to third, but two groundouts to shortstop ended the frame.
In the sixth, Emma Varrato one-hopped a double to right center. Christina Dark collected her second single, advancing Varrato to third. Brinley Schmidt then bunted to third, allowing Varrato to score on the throw to first.
Ursinus threatened again in the bottom of the sixth when freshman Morgan Comfort smacked a double to left center to open the frame. Crouse worked a one-out walk before Comfort was heading to third on a grounder to third and was tagged out by the third basewoman. A pop-up on the infield ended the potential rally.
The Bears collected four hits, two hits being doubles. Ursinus went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
Willis (6-8) registered her 100th strikeout of the season in defeat. She pitched all seven innings, allowing two runs and walking one while striking out four.
Game 2: Elizabethtown 4, Ursinus 2
The Bears held a 2-0 edge into the sixth inning before the Blue Jays plated four runs in the sixth inning.
Ursinus scored two runs in the first after Manto's deep triple to right center and Crouse's opposite field home run, the fourth of her career.
Comfort (5-7) carried a one-hitter into the sixth frame before Elizabethtown's big inning. A Blue Jays single led off the inning. With one out, a costly miscue on a double play opportunity gave the Jays life. Emma Varrato singled up the middle, scoring the Blue Jay's first run. After another single, the Blue Jays took a 3-2 lead when Brinley Schmidt doubled to deep center, knocking in two runs. Sarah Personette singled up the middle to make the game 4-2.
The Bears avoided another big inning in the seventh. Elizabethtown loaded the bases with no outs before a crucial 3-2-4 double play neutralized the threat.
Winning pitcher Dark (2-0) came into the game in the second inning and was flawless. Dark allowed no runs, a hit and a walk in her 5.1 relief innings.
Ursinus gets back in CC action against Franklin & Marshall with a home doubleheader on Saturday starting at 1 p.m.