MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – Millersville softball faced a tough task Tuesday afternoon in the visiting East Stroudsburg Warriors, who were just tabbed as the No. 14 team in Division II by the NFCA. The hosts ended up falling on both ends of the twin-bill but gave themselves opportunities to win in both contests. Game one ended 7-6 and was a back-and-forth affair, while game two's final score was 4-1 in favor of the Warriors.

GAME ONE:
The Warriors got to Marauders starting pitcher Alex Schaefer in the top of the first with two hits and a walk, but she was able to limit the damage to a single run. The senior settled in for the next two frames, striking out the side in the second and setting the visitors down in order in the third.
 
The Marauders faced the tall task of scoring off of Paige Zigmund, the 2023 PSAC East Pitcher of the Year. The bats were quiet until the bottom of the third inning. Their first hit came off the bat of Kendra Bumgardner with one out, a line drive into left field. Aleese Angelo followed that up with a liner to right, and the Marauders were in business. Gabi Turner's walk loaded the bases for Gabby D'Ottavio, who knotted the game at one with a flyout to center field. Hailey Watlington gave the hosts the lead with a single up the middle to score Angelo, but they were far from finished; Millersville would end the inning with six runs on the board due to two untimely Warrior errors.
 
The guests answered right back in their next at bat, using three straight hits and two doubles to bring home three runs and cut the lead to two. Schaefer was almost able to get out of a one-out bases-loaded jam in the sixth inning, as she struck out the third hitter looking, but a single and an error cleared the bases and gave the Warriors a 7-6 lead. Millersville couldn't muster any more runs after that point and fell by that score.

GAME TWO:
Morgan Crutcher got the start in game two and was put to the test immediately. The second batter she faced doubled and was brought home with a single a few batters later. Crutcher responded with a shutdown inning in the second, but an error in the third allowed an unearned run to cross, putting the Marauders down 2-0.
 
The bottom of that inning presented Millersville's best chance to score in the first five frames. Consecutive singles put two runners on with two outs, but a groundout ended the inning and the threat. The Marauders' first run would come off the bat of Victoria Fuss. She led off the sixth inning with a home run that just cleared the left field fence. They would tally two more hits in the inning but entered the seventh down 4-1.
 
A scoreless top of the seventh tossed by Angelina Saverase sent the game to its final half inning. Carly Vaughan started the inning by working a nine-pitch walk. One out later, Angelina Edwards singled into center field to put two on with one out, but a strikeout and a lineout ended the Marauders' chances at a comeback.
 
GAME NOTES

• The Marauders are still looking for their first win over the Warriors in the past two seasons. The loss marks their sixth straight to East Stroudsburg, as they were swept across four games last season.
• After going into a bit of a slump for a two-week period, Watlington has been heating up of late. She's six of thirteen with four runs scored over her last five games and broke out with a three hit performance in game one.

POSTGAME REACTION FROM HEAD COACH JEN PROBST

• On the offense: "Our pitch selection was excellent today. That's something we worked really hard on, both in the offseason and in the practices leading up to today because we knew what we were going to face."
• On battling one of the best teams in the country: "They (East Stroudsburg) are tough. They're tough all throughout the lineup. They're tough on defense. We just played two incredibly competitive games of softball. I think it shows how far we've come so far this season already and gives us a lot of excitement for the rest of the season."

UP NEXT

• The Marauders welcome Lock Haven to Millersville on March 29 at 1 p.m.