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LATROBE, Pa. (April 5) - The Saint Vincent softball team swept Chatham University in a Presidents' Athletic Conference doubleheader on a chilly spring day in Latrobe.
Saint Vincent out-slugged Chatham by 16-7 score in a five-inning victory in game one. The Bearcats pulled away for a 5-2 win in game two to complete the sweep. The pair of wins extend SVC's winning streak to eight straight games.
The Bearcats scored three early runs in the opener, as
Lauren Miller plated
Victoria Culver and
Shelby Noel with an RBI single in the bottom of the first. Miller would eventually come around to score on a wild pitch to make it 3-0 SVC. After Chatham got a run back in the top of the second, the Bearcats struck for four more runs to take a 7-1 advantage. Miller added her second two-run single in as many innings before
Kelly Flaherty singled up the middle to bring home two more.
Chatham refused to go quietly offensively, scratching out three runs in the third to draw within 7-4. In the bottom of the frame, Noel would double home Culver before coming around to score after a throwing error by the Cougars. Those runs extended the SVC advantage to 9-4 after three innings. Chatham again countered with three runs in the top of the fourth, cutting the Bearcat lead to 9-7.
The Bearcats would put the game away for good with seven runs in the bottom of the fourth. The inning included RBI hits by
Erica Smiley,
Rachel Harenchar and
Alona Sleith. The fourth inning outburst made it 16-7 Saint Vincent. Sleith would retire Chatham in order in the fifth to complete the mercy rule victory.
Noel, Sleith and Miller all recorded multi-hit games in the opener. Miller led the offense with four RBI and three runs scored, while Sleith and Noel added two doubles each in the victory.
Emily Duerr picked up the victory in the circle to move to 3-0 this season.
In game two, Chatham scored first to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning. However, freshman pitcher
Riley Assalone limited the damage, working out of a bases loaded jam with a pop up to left to end the threat.
Courtney Patterson gave SVC a 2-1 edge in the bottom half of the inning with a clutch two-run single to score Sleith and Duerr.
The visitors used a sacrifice fly in the fifth to tie the game at 2-2. However, Miller would deliver another clutch hit, singling to score Noel and give SVC the lead for good. Culver added a two-run triple to give the Bearcats some insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth, extending the lead to 5-2.
Sleith finished off a perfect day at the plate by going 2-for-2 with a walk in game two. Assalone moved to 5-0 in the circle, as the freshman worked five strong innings, allowing two runs while scattering seven hits. The righty walked two and struck out two on the afternoon. Smiley earned her first collegiate save by pitching two scoreless innings to nail down the victory.
Sleith went 5-for-5 at the plate in the doubleheader, pushing her season batting average to .512, which ranks her as second best in the PAC. Noel went 3-for-6 with a pair of doubles and three runs scored in the twinbill. Miller collected three hits, five RBI and three runs scored.
Saint Vincent moves to 13-3 overall and 4-0 in conference play. Meanwhile, Chatham falls to 2-14 overall and 0-4 in league contests.
The Bearcats are slated to travel to Waynesburg University for a PAC doubleheader on Saturday, April 7. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.
