Cary, N.C. – The Millersville University softball team swept its way through three games on the first day of the Shaw Challenge Friday. The Marauders won 10-8 against West Virginia State then dominated Virginia State 18-8 in only five innings before wrapping up the day with a 10-7 victory over Bowie State.
Millersville is now 6-1 on the season. Millersville has scored double-digit runs in five of seven games.
Freshman
Faith Willenbrock went 7 for 11 with two doubles, two home runs and four runs.
VS. W.VA. STATE
The Marauders earned a hard-fought, two-run victory over W.Va. State, holding off the charging Yellow Jackets in the seventh inning.
Millersville scored three in the second inning on RBI singles from
Allie Janowiak and junior
Morgan Almodovar. In the third, Willenbrock homered to left field and Almodovar drew a bases-loaded walk. Senior
Raeann Buskey raced around the bases for an inside-the-park home run in the fourth, giving Millersville a 6-2 lead.
A four run, four hit bottom of the fifth inning extended the Millersville lead to 10-3. Ford and freshman Devan Mascuilli drove in runs with singles, and Willenbrock plated a pair with a double.
W.Va. State scored five runs in the final two innings including three in the seventh but
Emma Bevard escaped the jam, stranding three runners on base including the go-ahead run on first.
Freshman
Catherine Johnson earned her second win of the season by working 5 2/3 innings. Johnson struck out five batters, walked five and gave up six runs.
VS. VIRGINIA STATE
A 10-run top of the third inning led Millersville to an 18-8 victory over Virginia State in the second game of the day.
Mascuilli and R. Buskey started the scoring with two triples at the top of the lineup in the top of the first inning. Virginia State answered with a four-run bottom of the first to take a 4-2 lead.
The Marauders started their 10-run inning trailing by three runs. Willenbrock, Macey Koontz,
Rebecca Blatt, McCurdy, Janowiak and Almodovar all delivered RBI singles. The second time through the lineup, Mascuilli doubled home two, Willenbrock plated a run with a sacrifice fly and Koontz singled in her second run of the inning.
Millersville continued to add to the lead in the fourth with a two-run double from Almodovar. Willenbrock, Blatt and
Maggie Murphy all drove in two runs with doubles in the fifth.
Jen Probst put three pitchers on the mound. Sophomore
Paige Harris came in relief of senior
Cassidy Pinchorski and pitched 3 2/3 innings, striking out four batters and letting up three hits and three runs. Harris earned her first win of the season. Freshman
Brianna White closed the second game in the bottom of the fifth inning with three strikeouts in her collegiate debut.
VS. BOWIE STATE
The pivotal innings of the game were the fifth and sixth inning for the Marauders in a 10-7 comeback win.
The Marauders trailed 5-2 in the fifth when with two runners on, Blatt singled to left field to bring Millersville within one. Blatt, representing the tying run at second base, scored when Murphy doubled to right.
Janowiak started the bottom of the sixth inning with a double. Mascuilli singled to left field scoring Janowiak and giving Millersville its first lead of the game. Then, R. Buskey plated Mascuilli with a sacrifice fly. Blatt singled and Willenbrock drilled a two-run homer for a 9-5 lead.
Ford split the outfielders with a double to right center and the speedy
Nicole Burke scored from first base, giving Millersville a five-run lead entering the seventh.
Brianna White picked us her first collegiate win by striking out seven in six innings. After Bowie State loaded the bases in the seventh, Johnson entered and picked up the final three outs.
NEXT UP
The Marauders play Lincoln (Pa.) and Bluefield State on Saturday, March 10.
