Photos by Nicholas Campbell
By Thamoda Haputhanthri
The Susquehanna softball team split a tense doubleheader against the Elizabethtown Blue Jays this Saturday at Sassafras Softball Field. The River Hawks took a dominant 3-1 win in game one, and the Blue Jays came back to take a 5-4 victory in the nightcap.
The River Hawks would break the deadlock in the first game in the second Inning, as sophomore Alyssa Mayorca would score on an error from the Blue Jays.
Elizabethtown answered right back in the top of the third when junior Hannah Long crossed home plate thanks to a double from first-year Morgan Carr.
That lone run would be the only run that Susquehanna starting pitcher Brianna Jones would give up for Susquehanna during the bout.
The River Hawks would click into second gear in the bottom of the third. Sophomore Maura Savoca scored off a second base steal from fellow sophomore Riley Mullen to snatch the lead right back.
Jones continued her dominant day, this time in the batter’s box with an RBI single in the very next inning to give the River Hawks a 3-1 advantage.
A strong defensive performance would secure the River Hawks with a win. Jones would end up the winning pitcher for the River Hawks, bringing her total to 5 wins and 2 losses.
Jones finished with only five hits and one run allowed while striking out seven batters and pitching all seven innings.
Junior Katelyn Dugery led the way for Susquehanna in the batter’s box, going 3-3 while five other River Hawks recorded a hit each.
The second game would fall in favor of the Blue Jays, as Sassafras Fields would see a high scoring affair between the two teams.
The first three innings would remain a deadlock, until the top of the fourth as sophomore Izzy Akelaitis would open the scoring for the Blue Jays with a RBI single. Long continued that for Elizabethtown with a RBI single of her own to give the Blue Jays the early 2-0 lead.
The River Hawks would hit back in quick succession in the bottom of the fourth. Mayorca continued her strong day in the box with an RBI single, followed by a two RBI single off the bat of sophomore Isabella Sulesky to give Susquehanna back the lead.
The fifth inning would see another two run RBI single, this time for Elizabethtown as the Blue Jays took the lead right back from the River Hawks. Akelaitis then hit a RBI double for her second hit of the game, stretching the Blue Jays’ advantage to 5-3.
Susquehanna would not be able to pry the game out of the Blue Jays, only scoring a singular run, as Sulesky would hit another RBI single in the bottom of the sixth.
Ultimately, Susquehanna scored seven runs on the day across both games while also recording seventeen hits and two errors split during the doubleheader.
Susquehanna travels to Stevenson, MD to face Stevenson University for a double header, the first non-conference opponent for the team in a month on Tuesday, April 21 at 3 p.m.