Photo Courtesy of Susquehanna Athletics
By Marquis Frias, Sports Editor
The Susquehanna Softball team completed a double header sweep against Messiah University to pick up their first home wins of the season. The River Hawks showed dominance all around in game one with a 6-1 victory and followed that with a 9-7 comeback win in the nightcap.
Game one saw senior Brianna Jones, who has missed sometime with injury, get the start for Susquehanna. Jones went on to have a dominating performance in the circle, as she Jones pitched all seven innings of the ballgame, only allowing a single run that came off a wild pitch. She also finished with eight strikeouts, while only letting up four total hits and a single walk.
“I’ve been working really hard with my team on what’s working and what’s not working and working toward my strengths,” Jones said. “But I wouldn’t have been able to do anything without my defense, they had my back out there too.”
The shutdown performance in the circle from Jones gave the opportunity for the Susquehanna bats to get going throughout the game. After no runs were scored in the first two innings, first-year Sydney Perez would kick off the scoring in the bottom of the third with an RBI single.
Only a few batters later, senior Stevie Shaak would reach home off of fellow senior Amanda Amerman’s ground out to give SU a 2-0 lead.
After the Falcons scored a run in the top of the forth, the River Hawks would respond in a big way. With Jones already dominating on the mound, she would come up with one of the biggest plays so far this season with a three-run inside the park home run.
The big play came in the bottom after Jones’s single up the middle went past the center fielder and using her speed, Jones was able to touch all bases before reaching home to give her team a 5-0 lead.
“I have never had an inside the park home run in my career… It got my blood pumping and it was also my first collegiate homerun so that was pretty cool,” Jones said.
Susquehanna would score again off of an Amerman groundout, with sophomore Maddy Devine being the beneficiary later in the inning to boast a 6-1 advantage. The Falcons weren’t able to get any runs going in the final innings, leading to a River Hawks win in game one.
The River Hawks recorded eight hits in the contest, with seven different River Hawks claiming responsibility for at least one. Perez led the way as the only River Hawk with two hits and also a RBI.
The nightcap saw more dramatics between the two teams. The Falcons, unlike in game one, were able to get an early run off an RBI single in the first inning. Susquehanna responded in the bottom half, scoring two runs for an early 2-1 advantage over the Falcons.
Messiah then took the top off in the top of the top of the third, scoring five runs to take a commanding 6-2 lead. The Falcons recorded six hits in the top of the third, which applied pressure to the Susquehanna defense.
Starting pitcher in game two Brooke Alllen was subbed out midway in the inning for Piper Wright, who excelled in her relieving duties.
Over the course of the final four innings, Wright let up two hits and one run while recording four strikeouts. Despite a few errors, the River Hawks’ improved play defensively gave them the opportunity to strike in the later innings, which is exactly what they did.
In the fifth inning, Shaak continued her impressive day with a two run RBI double, cutting the Messiah lead to 6-4. After the Falcons earned an insurance run in the top of the sixth off an error from Susquehanna, the River Hawks would tie the game at seven in the bottom frame.
Sophomore Alyssa Mayorca would steal home to kick off the rally, followed by LaRose hitting an RBI single. Sophomore Myalynn Morales then capped it off by scoring on a wild pitch for the third straight run.
Susquehanna then earned two insurance runs for the seventh inning after tying the game. Perez also continued with her solid day with another RBI single while Amerman hit a sac-fly leading to LaRose run.
Wright then closed out her game saving performance retiring all three batters in the top of the seventh to help seal the River Hawks comeback victory.
In a thrilling affair, the River Hawks came back from being down 6-2. Both teams posted a five run inning at different times in the game, with the River Hawks seven runs in the final two innings.
Wright finished her day with four strikeouts and only allowed two hits and one unearned run, picking up her second win of the year. In the hitting column, Susquehanna posted eight total hits, with Shaak leading the way with two hits.
The River Hawks will hope to carry their momentum when they host the No.11 Moravian Greyhounds in a double header landmark conference series Saturday, April 4 with game one starting at noon at Sassafras Softball Field.