CLERMONT, Fla. – The Ursinus softball team held on for a 5-4 victory over Wentworth on Sunday afternoon at Hancock Park in Clermont, Florida.
With the win, the Bears improved to 2-1 overall as they completed their second day of their spring break trip. Ursinus was slated to face Russell Sage College in their second game of the day, but the game was canceled due to lack of umpires.
Serving as the away team, senior Mackenzie Brennan led the game off with a single and a stolen base before three-straight strikeouts ended the top of the first for the Bears. After each team traded three-and-outs in the second inning, Ursinus broke the scoreless tie in the top of the third when first-year Jessica Fusco roped a two-out bloop single to left field to put the Bears on top 1-0. Junior Jordan Moore led the inning off with a single and pinch runner Anna Mefford advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. A walk from junior Allyson Meakim kept the inning alive for Fusco to come through.
Ursinus extended its lead to 2-0 in the top of the fourth when sophomore Maddie Solow scored on an errant throw to third base following a single from Moore. Bears senior starting pitcher, Kayla McTamney, retired the first 10 Leopards she faced in the game before surrendering a home run with one out in the bottom of the fourth to make it a 2-1 game. However, Ursinus got the run right back in the top of the fifth when Meakim drove in Brennan with a double after she led the inning off with a walk and stolen base. The Bears loaded the bases with no outs as they looked to extend their lead, but the next three batters were retired to keep the score at 3-1.
The Bears added two more runs in the top of the sixth to take a 5-1 lead. Senior Julia Eckels doubled to right field and came around to score with two outs after a deep drive from sophomore Madison Wilson bounced off the Leopards centerfielder's glove. Fusco followed in the next at-bat with a single to score Wilson from second base. Wentworth began to rally in the bottom of the sixth as they cut the lead to 5-3 following back-to-back singles. With runners on second and third with two outs, junior second baseman Amanda Panati got the Bears out of the jam with a diving catch on a pop out. The Leopards pushed another run across in the bottom of the seventh with two outs after a high throw home scored the lead runner from third base following a single. With runners on second and third, junior pitcher Alexis Miller entered the game and sealed the game for the Bears after forcing a foul out to first base on the first pitch of the at-bat.
Fusco finished the game by going 2-of-4 from the plate with two RBIs and Moore went 2-of-4 from the plate as well. Eckels, Brennan, and Wilson all scored runs for the Bears in the win. McTamney recorded the win after allowing four runs (three earned) on eight hits and one strikeout in 6.2 innings. Miller earned the save after recording the final out of the game. Wentworth starting pitcher Erin Hancock suffered the loss after allowing five runs (two earned) on seven hits with seven strikeouts and three walks in six innings.
The Bears return to action tomorrow, March 7th as they will play a doubleheader at Hancock Park against Capital at 11:15 a.m. and Marywood at 1:30 p.m. Due to the umpire situation, the Spring Games administrators slightly altered the game times