EDINBORO, Pa. (April 12, 2014) – The Edinboro softball team picked up a pair of PSAC West victories over Clarion on Saturday afternoon by scores of 3-2 and 4-2 in the Fighting Scots' 2014 home opener. Edinboro improved to 10-12 overall and 5-5 in the PSAC West with the wins, while the Golden Eagles fell to 1-18 and 0-12 in the conference.
The Fighting Scots eclipsed their win total of eight games from last season with the victories today.
In the first half of the conference twinbill, Edinboro struck first when
Brooke Callaghan plated
Brenna Cosgrove on a groundout to second base, giving the Scots a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.
Edinboro added a run in the third inning when Callaghan 's RBI infield single brought Cosgrove once again, putting the Scots ahead 2-0.
Clarion answered with a run in the fourth inning on a Christina Tressler RBI double, scoring Ashley Barenchick from first base to cut the Fighting Scot lead to 2-1.
After a scoreless fifth inning, Kirsten Wilcox led off the top of the sixth inning with a homerun to left center field, evening the game at two apiece.
With two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning,
Haley Struebing scored on a Clarion error to give Edinboro a 3-2 lead. Struebing led off the inning with a single to right field.
Fighting Scot pitcher Sam Weaver sealed the win for Edinboro, stranding a Golden Eagle runner at first base in the top of the seventh inning.
Weaver (1-5) earned her first career victory, working two innings of relief and allowing two hits.
Starting pitcher
Abby Sotter produced a quality outing, tossing five innings and allowing two runs on four hits. Sotter struck out two batters and walked one.
Lyndsey Jones suffered the loss for Clarion, allowing three runs (two earned) on seven hits, while striking out one and walking none.
Brenna Cosgrove and
Brooke Callaghan each went 2-for-3 at the plate for the game to lead the Fighting Scot offense.
In the nightcap,
Katie Holmes got the Fighting Scots on the board first with a two-run single to left field in the bottom of the second inning. Holmes drove in
Courtney Korpus and
Claire Johnston on the play, giving Edinboro a 2-0 lead.
The Fighting Scots added to that lead in the bottom of the third inning, when
Haley Struebing belted a two-run homerun to extend the Edinboro advantage to 4-0. The four-bagger marked Struebing's team-high fifth homerun of the season.
The Golden Eagles plated a run in the top of the fifth when Megan Anderson stole home, cutting the Edinboro lead to 4-1.
In the top of the seventh, Clarion scored another run with two outs in the inning, but Edinboro pitcher
Kalet Lenart retired two batters in a row to close the game for the Fighting Scots.
Lenart improved to 6-4 on the season with a complete game victory for Edinboro, allowing two runs (one earned) on seven hits. She fanned nine batters and walked none. Lenart has now won each of her last three starts, with 16 strikeouts and no walks in her last two appearances.
Heather Tighe was a perfect 2-for-2 with a walk for the game. Struebing went 2-for-3 at the plate to go along with two RBI.
Paige Baker was tagged with the loss for Clarion, allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits in five innings of work. Baker struck out two batters and also walked two.
The Fighting Scots return to action tomorrow, hosting Indiana (Pa.) for another PSAC West doubleheader. The first game is slated to begin at 1 p.m. in Edinboro
