Myrtle Beach, S.C. – The Millersville University softball team finished the second day of the Snow Bird Freeze-Off Tournament with a 2-1 win against New Haven but then after a rain delay was defeated by Georgian Court, 9-1. The Marauders entered into the final day of the tournament with a 2-2 record.
Senior
Maggie Murphy and sophomore
Allie Janowiak played a key role in each game as Murphy hit a two-run double in the New Haven victory while Janowiak knocked home freshman
Hunter Little for the lone run against Georgian Court. Junior
Emma Bevard threw six innings in relief against the Chargers, allowing only one run and four hits.
GAME ONE (NEW HAVEN)
• The Marauders struck first in the bottom of the second. After a lead-off triple by sophomore
Faith Willenbrock, sophomore
Brianna Battavio kept patient in her at-bat and walked, recording her sixth in three games. Murphy ripped a double into the right field gap, bringing home to two.
• The Chargers responded the next half inning, scoring one run on a Jovanna Hillman single, cutting the Marauders' lead down to one.
• Following the Chargers' third inning, both pitchers were dealing. Brevard went six innings, allowing just four hits with three strikeouts. New Haven's pitcher Ava Fitzmaurice went all six inning, recording four hits but walking four Marauders.
• Murphy went 1-for-2 with the double and a walk. Three others Marauders--freshman
Alexis Staniec, junior
Rebecca Blatt and Willenbrock--had one hit each.
GAME TWO (GEORGIAN COURT)
• The Lions exploded out of the gate, scoring five runs in the bottom of the first inning. Georgian Court's early charge came from a three-run home run and two RBI singles.
• Following that inning, head coach
Jen Probst put in freshman
Maddie Guinane for her collegiate debut. She recorded three innings pitched, striking out a team-high three batters.
• Marissa Trezza hit a home run to left field in the fourth, extending the Lions lead to 8-0.
• In the next half-inning, the Marauders rallied, starting with singles by Little and sophomore
Devan Masciulli. Those hits put runners on second and third due to a errant throw by Georgian Court. Janowiak came up with a single to left field, scoring Little and erasing the shutout.
• The Lions picked up the eight-run rule win after scoring on a wild pitch in the fifth.
HEAD COACH JEN PROBST QUOTES
• "Emma mixed her pitches really well and had the New Haven hitters really off balanced today. Our defense came up with some key plays in that game including a diving save by Bri Battavio on a grounder up the middle. Game two's score doesn't show how well our pitchers threw.
Allie Janowiak had a great game at short and was also able to keep a two-out rally going by getting us a run in game two."
• "
Maddie Guinane came in and threw with confidence. She sat down some really strong hitters."
• "Offensively, we faced two very good pitchers today. In game one, we moved runners; four hits and great pitching/defense was all we needed."
• "This team has so much energy and is so positive. They pick each other up and have fun on the field and in the dugout. We have really come together and that great team culture we spent so much time building is starting to show."
NOTES
• Millersville had four hits in both games.
• Freshman
Sydney Shannon recorded her collegiate debut as a pinch hitter in the Georgian Court game.
• This was the first time in program history that the Marauders and New Haven played.
UP NEXT
• The Marauders conclude the Snow Bird Freeze-Off Tournament on Sunday, Feb. 17 when they face West Virginia State at 10 a.m., before returning for their home opener against Bowie State on Saturday, Feb. 23.
FOLLOW THE MARAUDERS
•
Be the first to know what's going on with the Marauders -- Follow @VilleMarauders on Twitter and Instagram, become a fan of Millersville Athletics on Facebook, visit our Social Media page and download our mobile app from the Apple Store and Google Play! To support the Marauders, join the Black & Gold Club.
