MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – On a clear but windy Friday afternoon, the Marauders welcomed the Lock Haven Bald Eagles to Seaber Softball Stadium for a conference doubleheader. The hosts claimed both games on the strength of 31 combined hits on the day. The first game was a wild back and forth affair ending 16-13 while the nightcap finished 8-4.

GAME ONE:
Alex Schaefer started the game in the circle for the Marauders and worked in and out of trouble in the first inning. She allowed three straight singles after a leadoff strikeout but retired the next two batters to escape without allowing a run. The Marauders' first runs of the day would come shortly after that. Two straight singles and a walk loaded the bases for Sam Fried, who laced a double into the left field gap to bring all three runners home. Marli Schreiner came up next and brought Fried home with a single to put the hosts up 4-0.
 
A miscue-filled second frame would put them down 6-4. It started with a solo home run, after which Schaefer allowed the next four hitters to reach base. Three Marauder errors in addition to those runners eventually resulted in Lock Haven's six-run second. Millersville got a run back in their turn at-bat to cut the Bald Eagle lead in half and Schaefer tossed a shutdown third to bring the Marauders back to the plate down one.
 
Schreiner started off that third inning with a double and Taylor Campagna moved her over with a well-executed bunt. However, that bunt would be unnecessary to score Schreiner, as Victoria Fuss tripled to the wall in center field and traded places with the graduate student. Hailey Watlington drove Fuss home with a single to left field. After a flyout, Gabi Turner doubled to drive her home and Gabby D'Ottavio followed with a run-scoring single to put the Marauders up 9-6.
 
Staying consistent with the theme of the game, Lock Haven retook the lead in its next at-bat. Angelina Saverase came in to pitch for Schaefer with runners on the corners and one run home already in the top of the fourth. Three more runs scored in the inning and the Bald Eagles took a 10-9 lead.
 
That advantage would be short lived, as the Marauders tallied eight hits in their next chance at the plate. The offensive blitz began with back to back singles before the first out was tallied on a pop up. Fuss then singled to center field to drive in the tying run and Watlington Followed with another single to score two more runs. Aleese Angelo registered the Marauders' third straight run-scoring single to bring in Watlington and the Marauder lead grew to three. After a fourth straight single, D'Ottavio lined a double into the right-centerfield gap to score two runners. One more Marauder would come home in the frame, pushing their advantage to 16-10.
 
Saverase allowed a two-run home run in the top of the sixth inning, but the deficit was too great for the Bald Eagles to overcome. Morgan Crutcher came in with one out in the seventh inning and closed the 16-13 victory with a double play.

GAME TWO:
After needing just five pitches to get the save in game one, Morgan Crutcher got the nod to start game two. Game two would end up being less eventful, but the visitors got on the board first with a run in their first at-bat. Crutcher would finish the game having thrown one of her finest games of the season, allowing four runs over 5.2 innings pitched and striking out six Bald Eagles. With her fourth strikeout, the senior became the next in a long line of Marauders reaching milestones in 2024, as she became the seventh player in program history to reach 200 career punchouts.
 
The Marauders took the lead right back with a pair of run-scoring two-baggers in the bottom of the second inning to go up 3-1. It was Schreiner once more coming through with the big hit, driving home two runs before Fuss followed with another double to bring her across the plate. They would take the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth inning after the guests knotted the score at three. Angelo led off the inning with a double and Turner ripped a laser over the centerfield wall to put the host on top 5-3. Lock Haven cut their lead in half in their next chance at the plate, but a three-run bottom of the sixth inning sealed the doubleheader sweep.
 
GAME NOTES

• Schaefer finished with three strikeouts on the day, putting her six away from 400 for her career. If she reaches that mark, she will be the first player in program history to do so. Her next appearance will also be the one-hundredth in her career.
• Angelo recorded a personal milestone with her double in game two, becoming the second player in Millersville softball history to reach 50 career two-baggers. The only other player to have that many is Heather Lutz, who holds the record with 53.

POSTGAME REACTION FROM ASSISTANT COACH JUSTIN SYKES

• Overall takeaways: "The day started off tough, but we battled back every time. There were a couple rough innings, but we responded every inning by taking the lead or tying and fought hard all day."
• On the second inning miscues: "They were mostly just mental things like not throwing to who they need to throw to or not watching the ball going into the glove. Just little things like that. So it's more of players switching their mentality rather than us telling them what they need to fix because they know what they did wrong."

UP NEXT

• The Marauders face a quick turnaround, traveling to Shippensburg for a doubleheader against the Raiders on March 30. First pitch is slated for noon.