ASTON, Pa. – One monster inning against one of the top pitchers in Division III led the Ursinus College softball team to a split of Thursday's doubleheader against No. 13 Moravian on Thursday at the Maplezone Sports Village turf complex.
The Bears pulled out a 6-3 victory in Game 1 on the strength of a five-run, seven-hit fifth inning, and a last-ditch rally fell just short in a 5-3 defeat to the Greyhounds in the nightcap. Ursinus (5-9) racked up 18 hits and nine runs in two games against a dominant Moravian pitching staff that had conceded just 40 hits and 14 runs and produced a 0.69 team ERA in its first 12 games of the season.
Game 1: Ursinus 6, Moravian 3
Moravian (12-2) jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead on a two-run double by Janae Matos in the top of the first, and answered Donato's RBI single in the bottom of the frame with Julie Siragusa's RBI hit in the second to seize a 3-1 advantage.
The Bears put together a number of tough at-bats in the first several innings, but were unable to break through against Josie Novak, who entered with eye-popping numbers – a microscopic 0.71 ERA and 55 strikeouts to just 12 hits allowed in 39.1 innings. That all changed in the bottom of the fifth, when a bunt single by sophomore Brittany Gasser jump-started an unexpected parade of base-runners.
Sophomore Kayla Quinn dropped a bunt perfectly between the mound and first base, and an errant throw allowed Gasser to take third. Quinn stole second before Novak got a strikeout, the last out she would record. The Bears broke the game open with five consecutive hits, an explosion ignited by sophomore Samantha Garritano's two-run double over the head of the Moravian left fielder.
Sophomore Faith Carson reached on an infield hit, and sophomore Sammi Donato punched the go-ahead base hit into center field to give Ursinus a 4-3 lead. Back-to-back run-scoring singles by freshman Renee LeClerc and junior Rachel Hyman polished off a five-run frame that saw the Bears rap out seven hits and bat around. In one inning, Ursinus scored more runs off Novak than the Greyhounds ace had allowed all year.
While Novak faltered down the stretch, Ursinus junior Kaitlyn Willis only got stronger as the game wore on. After allowing three runs and four hits in the first two frames, the right-hander conceded only one hit over the last five innings, and only twice did the Greyhounds get a runner to second. Willis, who walked four and struck out five, punctuated the victory with a strikeout of Matos to improve to 4-3 on the season.
Donato (2-for-3, 2 RBI) and Garritano (2-for-4, 2 RBI) did most of the damage for the Bears, who tagged Novak for six earned runs on nine hits; Novak had surrendered a total of four earned runs in her first six starts.
Game 2: Moravian 5, Ursinus 3
The Greyhounds again were first on the board, plating the game's first run on a passed ball with the bases loaded in the bottom of the third. After a walk to Matos, Quinn got Jean Markovic to pop out to center and leave the bags full, limiting the damage; the sophomore worked out of a first-and-third, one-out jam in the second with back-to-back swinging strikeouts.
Julia DeMarco led off the bottom of the fourth with a home run just inside the left-field foul pole, doubling the Greyhounds' margin. Moravian then added to its lead in the bottom of the frame as Matos' RBI grounder scored Kat Spilman, who had doubled to lead off and moved to third on a fly ball to right. Freshman Isabella Dewes made a highlight-reel play to end the inning, leaping to snare a line drive from her shortstop post.
The Greyhounds pushed their lead to 5-0 with two more in the sixth, but Ursinus made a threatening push in the seventh. The Bears avoided the shutout on freshman Marissa Beebe's two-out single up the middle, which plated Gasser from second, and brought the tying run to the plate on successive singles from Manto and Quinn.
After falling behind 0-2 and fouling off three straight pitches, Dewes delivered a two-run single through the right side, sending Quinn to third and slicing the Greyhounds' lead to 5-3. But Carisone stopped the rally by getting Garritano to bounce out to second.
Dewes finished 2-for-4 with two RBI for Ursinus, while Manto was 2-for-3. Quinn worked around seven walks to pitch six tough innings, allowing three earned runs and striking out three.
Carisone, who came in with a 0.70 ERA, improved to 7-0 after allowing nine hits without a walk and striking out five.
Up Next
The Bears welcome Eastern to Snell Field for their home opener on Friday.