WEST CHESTER, Pa. — Mollie White continued her recent success with five scoreless innings in relief as the Millersville Marauders defeated the West Chester Golden Rams 3–1 in the first of two games Thursday afternoon. Game two got away from the visitors late, as a five-run sixth inning sealed a 9–1 loss.
The Golden Rams led off the third inning with two singles and a walk to load the bases, at which point White entered the game. The sophomore induced a pivotal double play on a line drive to short, which shortstop
Jiana Maniscalco grabbed and immediately threw to third base. White got her ender on a flyout to right and escaped with no harm done and a 3–1 lead. She would allow three hits and no runs over the next four innings while striking out five. It gives her nine straight scoreless innings pitched after tossing four such frames against Shepherd last time out, and it lowers her season earned run average (ERA) to a team-best 1.72.
"Mollie's been working ahead in the count and locating her changeup really well," Millersville head coach
Jen Probst said of the right-hander's effectiveness of late. "Today, she got stronger as the game went on and we played great defense behind her."
An opportunistic effort got the Marauders those three runs that won them the game. With two outs in the top of the third,
Kendra Bumgardner was on first base and
Carly Vaughan was on third, both by way of a single. A pickoff attempt gone wrong plated Vaughan and brought Bumgardner to third base for Maniscalco, who walked. A double steal then moved the runners up one station and gave Millersville a 2–1 lead. Maniscalco would come around to score the final run on a
Hailey Watlington single to left centerfield.
Despite tallying eight hits to West Chester's nine in the nightcap, the Marauders were unable to string any together, leaving eight runners on base to the Golden Rams' two. Vaughan had two hits including a double and
Ellie Soucy clubbed a pinch-hit double for the team's two extra-base knocks.
Jocelyn Langer kept her on-base streak alive with a single in both games; that now sits at 36 consecutive contests.
With the split, the Marauders move to 6–12 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play and remain in seventh place in the PSAC East Division. Their best opportunity to make up ground in the division comes this weekend, when the 'Ville battles bottom-dwellers Mansfield and Lock Haven. A trip to the mountains is the first of those two, as the Marauders take on the Mountaineers on Saturday, April 12 at 1 & 3 p.m. This comes after the Lock Haven series was moved to Sunday, April 13, due to forecasted precipitation.
