By Peter Vassilakos
The Susquehanna River Hawks welcomed the Catholic Cardinals in what will be the first conference game of this softball season for both clubs. The River Hawks came into the game 8-7 off the back of a series split with Messiah University, looking to start conference play off with a two-game sweep of the Cardinals.
But it was the Cardinals who came out swinging in this first of two games. Sarah Speath would rifle one down the right field bringing home Katie Scolse. Hailee Weis would step up to the plate sending Speath home to double the lead for the Cardinals. The cardinals would extend the lead to 3 before the Riverhawks finally got on the board thanks to a Zoey Brok double that would send Erin Bean home.
The Cardinals would add one last run to secure a 4-1 win with one more game to play.
The game opened with the River Hawks scoring first. They came out of the gate aggressively, with two separate players stealing two bases on the same play early in the first inning. Lexi Palumbo stole second base while Hailey Kaba did the unlikely and stole home. The Cardinals answered with a run of their own to tie the game.
The River Hawks answered the run with a monster sixth inning of their own. Hailey Kaba got her name on the scoresheet. Bean stepped up and cranked one out to right center field bringing home Bork and Ashley Warner. The River Hawks went up 4-1.
The River Hawks closed this one out thanks to a solid defensive performance in this bounce-back game. The two teams split the series 1-1 trading a pair of 4-1 games. The River Hawks travel to Lebanon Valley College for their next series of games.
