MUNHALL, Pa. (April 10) – The Saint Vincent softball team moved to 17-1 overall and a perfect 6-0 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference with a convincing doubleheader sweep at Chatham.
In the two wins, which came by scores of 10-3 and 12-3, the Bearcats cracked 23 hits, including 12 for extra bases.
GAME ONE: Saint Vincent 10, Chatham 3
In the opener, the Bearcats racked six extra-base hits and broke open a close ballgame by scoring eight runs over the final three innings.
After two scoreless frames, SVC broke through for the day's first two runs in the top of the third.
Olivia Persin led off the inning with a single, and two batters later,
Abbey Ginter belted her sixth home run of the season to give the Bearcats a 2-0 lead.
The Bearcats stranded a pair of runners in the fourth, but then broke open the game with a 4-run top of the fifth.
Kelsey Tobin singled and Ginter walked to open the frame, before
Jessica LaPorte cleared the bases with an opposite-field triple to right to make it 4-0.
Alexandra Dillner then doubled LaPorte home, and would score on
Haley Bicko's single to right field to up the lead to 6-0.
Saint Vincent would add onto its lead in the sixth. Persin and Tobin singled and LaPorte walked to load the bases, before LaPorte reached on a fielder's choice that scored Persin with her team's seventh run. Dillner followed with a ground-rule double to plate Tobin, before
Leah Yoder's sacrifice fly brought home LaPorte to make it 9-0.
Chatham scratched across two runs in the bottom of the sixth, before the Bearcats added one in the top of the seventh, as Bicko led off by reaching on an error, moved to third on a
Rachel Mason groundout, took third on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI-groundout from Persin.
The Cougars scored the game's final run in the bottom of the seventh, using three walks and a single, but it was too little, too late.
Four Saint Vincent players turned in multi-hit efforts in the win, with Persin going 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored; LaPorte 2-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored; Dillner 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs; and Bicko 2-for-3 with a triple.
Freshman pitcher
Olivia Bushore notched her fifth complete game victory of the season and moved to 7-0, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits with four strikeouts.
GAME TWO – Saint Vincent 12, Chatham 3
In the nightcap, Saint Vincent overcame an early deficit with a pair of runs in the middle innings, before breaking the game wide open with eight runs in the final frame.
The Cougars took an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a two-run home run from Mackenzie Dunn, but the Bearcats answered right back in the top of the second. With two outs,
Mackenzie Larimer smacked an RBI double to right field to score Bicko, who reached on a fielder's choice. Starting pitcher
Meghan Braun then helped her own cause with a double of her own to plate Larimer and tie the game.
In the top of the fourth, Larimer came through with her second run-scoring hit of the game, singling home
Katelyn Stokan, who stroked a one-out double, to give the Bearcats a 3-2 lead.
The Bearcats added on with one run in the top of the fifth. With one out, Tobin reached on an error, before moving to second base on a Ginter single. Dillner then followed with a single to center to score Tobin and put SVC on top, 4-2.
In the lengthy top of the seventh, Saint Vincent sent 13 batters to the plate and scored eight runs on four hits and an error. Persin had two hits in the inning, including a two-out, two-run single, while Ginter and Braun each had RBI doubles and Yoder a sacrifice fly, as SVC opened up a 12-2 lead.
The Cougars plated an unearned run in the bottom of the seventh on a triple and an error, but Braun closed out her first career complete-game win with a fly ball to center field to seal the sweep.
Seven players accounted for the Bearcats' 12 hits in the win. Ginter finished 3-for-5 with a double, RBI and run scored, while Persin, Larimer and Braun each went 2-for-4. Larimer and Braun totaled three RBIs, while Persin and Dillner each drove in two runs.
Braun moved to 3-0 on the year, allowing three runs (two earned) on eight hits.
The Bearcats will continue their busy week on Tuesday, April 12, facing their toughest test of the year with a 3:30 p.m. doubleheader at Westminster. The Titans are tied with the Bearcats atop the PAC standings, with a 4-0 conference record and 17-2 overall mark.
