Photo Courtesy of Sports Information
By Maddy Lanning, Staff Writer
The Susquehanna University softball team opened up their season 2-0, defeating Fredonia 2-1 and defeating Pittsburgh at Bradford 8-5, with both games taking place on Saturday, Feb. 29 in Salem, VA.
In the first game of the day, Fredonia took an early lead in the bottom of the first inning. The run was scored off of Fredonia’s Eva Fitzsimmons’ hit to bring in an RBI. The River Hawks, however, did not trail for long.
In the top of the second inning, junior infielder Madison Lane made contact with one out, driving a double into left field. This hit brought in two RBIs, scoring freshman infielder Ashley Warner and sophomore catcher Katie Koch.
Junior pitcher Gabby Bubba put away 18 of the next 19 batters, striking out the last five batters and totaling 70 pitchers on the day.
“When I step on the mound, all I’m looking to do is give the best performance for my team,” Bubba said. “It becomes really easy to settle into a game and find my rhythm when I know that everyone behind me has confidence in me and I have the same in them.”
In the River Hawks’ second game of the day, they faced Pitt-Bradford and again came out on top, winning via a score of 8-5.
Senior pitcher Amanda Seckinger got off to a fast start for Susquehanna, as she retired the Panthers’ bench in the top of the first, allowing Susquehanna to come out swinging.
The River Hawks scored four runs in the bottom of the first led by senior outfielder Kasey Bost who hit a double that drove in sophomore Kiara Bryant, who walked and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt.
Bost then made it to third on a ground out and scored on an RBI single from Warner, who wound up off of a two-run home run hit by freshman infielder Morgan Henry. The home run marked the first of Henry’s career.
“Not only did I get my first home run, but it helped the team out in a big way,” Henry said.
Pitt-Bradford added two runs of their own in the third inning on a River Hawk error, but Susquehanna didn’t let this deter them, as the bottom of the third saw the team score four more runs, advancing their lead to 8-2. Junior outfielder Katherine Fahsbender highlighted the run with a three-RBI triple.
The Panthers cut the lead in half by scoring three more runs in the fifth inning off of a triple that scored two runs. Bubba relieved Seckinger on the mound and got the final two outs of the sixth inning before then retiring the Panther’s bench in the seventh.
The River Hawks will next travel to Florida for their spring break trip, which will begin with games against Kean and Trinity on Sunday, March 8.