MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – The Shepherd Rams visited Seaber Softball Stadium on Monday afternoon after rain forced last week's postponement. The Marauders took game one of the doubleheader 7-3 on the strength of five extra-base hits but the Rams answered back with a 7-5 victory in game two.

GAME ONE:
Nicolina Pezzone got the start in game one after pitching well in her opportunities on April 6. She mowed down the Rams in order in the first and second innings, recording two pop flies in the latter frame.

The Marauder offense gave her a one-run lead heading into that second inning. Sam Fried led off the game with a double to the warning track against stellar Shepherd freshman hurler Madelanye Ruffner. Ruffner entered the game with a 12-1 record and a 0.95 earned run average in her rookie season, but the Marauders would give the lefty her second loss by the day's end.  Fried advanced to third on a fly ball to right and came home on a wild pitch. They added to their lead in the second inning as well. Carly Vaughan walked to start the frame and Victoria Fuss came through with a two-out double to push their advantage to 2-0.  Aleese Angelo added another run to the Marauder lead to begin their next at-bat with a solo home run to left field.
 
Pezzone was strong through three innings but faced control issues to begin the fourth. She walked the first two batters and Millersville head coach Jen Probst decided to go with Alex Schaefer in relief. A single to her first batter scored one run, but the veteran got the next hitter to pop up and a pretty double play limited the damage to the lone tally. After that first hit, Schaefer retired six in a row.
 
Vaughan bested Angelo's earlier blast with a no-doubt two-run shot that clattered off of the scoreboard in left field. It was the first of the freshman's collegiate career and put the Marauders up 5-1 in the bottom of the sixth.  Angelo extended the lead later in the inning with a two-run double that landed about a foot short of another home run. The Rams would score two in the bottom of the seventh but the hosts held on for the 7-3 victory.

GAME TWO:
Morgan Crutcher got the start in the circle as the moon loomed overhead but was chased in the first inning after allowing three runs. Angelo answered right back in the Marauders' first at-bat with a solo blast to center field.  
 
Pezzone was the reliever chosen to come in for Crutcher in the first inning. The Rams fared better this time around as opposed to the first game, as they tallied three runs on three hits. Two of the three runs scored due to a miscommunication between infielders on a pop fly.
 
Millersville threatened to come all the way back in its next chance at the dish. Kendra Bumgardner led off the inning with a single and scored on a throwing error by the Ram's second baseman on the next play. The 'Ville then loaded the bases with two outs for Gabi Turner. She worked the count to 2-0 but just missed a fastball and popped it up to end the inning.
 
Both offenses would be mostly quiet until the bottom of the sixth inning, when the Marauders cut the deficit to three. Fuss doubled home two runs in the form of Bumgardner and Hailey Watlington, who both got on base with singles. They scored another run in the bottom of the seventh but ultimately fell 7-5.

GAME NOTES

• The Marauders remain below .500 all-time against the Rams in the all-time series with the record now standing at 16-19 in their favor.
• Angelo's home run in the third inning of game one was her first in the last 10 games. Her last long ball before that came on March 19 at West Chester. She also became the first player to reach 150 career runs batted in in Millersville softball history with her two-run double in game one.  

POSTGAME REACTION FROM HEAD COACH JEN PROBST

• On putting up numbers against an elite starter: "I think our pitch selection has been really strong especially against some of the higher level pitching in our conference. It was really nice to see us come out, swing big and get some runs early."
• On getting contributions throughout the lineup: "It's always great when you can count on your whole lineup to produce. It was also nice to see that we were scoring and chipping away every inning. When we do that, we obviously have a greater chance of pulling out a win, so it's a good feeling and keeps the momentum up."

UP NEXT

• The Marauders play for the fifth and sixth time in four days when they travel to take on the Warriors at East Stroudsburg on April 9 beginning at