CLERMONT, Fla. - The Hood College softball team won its Mar. 17 games in Florida by a combined three runs, defeating Fredonia 7-5 and Hamilton 5-4.
Inside the Circle
- Rebecca Gottleib pitched against the Continentals and recorded her seventh complete game of the season and won for the fifth time. She struck out seven and allowed four runs on three hits.
- Rachel Benden picked up her second victory of the season, pitching 6.1 innings against Fredonia. She allowed three runs, two earned, on eight hits. The junior struck out three.
- Ang Casey tossed 0.2 innings in relief, getting the last out of the sixth and the first out of the seventh against the Blue Devils before Benden re-entered. Casey allowed two runs on three hits.
- None of Hood's three pitchers issued a walked.
At the Plate
- The Blazers' pitchers had strong days at the plate. Benden scored twice during her pitching appearance and had three hits against Hamilton to end the evening 4-for-7 with three runs scored, a double and two RBIs.
- Gottleib went 4-for-7 with two hits in each game. She doubled and tripled against Fredonia and then doubled again in the Hamilton game. Gottleib drove in five.
- Mallorie Hetzel had a pair of two-hit games to finish the day 4-for-6 with three RBIs.
- Cailyn Barthlow doubled in both games and ended the day with three hits and a walk.
Hood 7, Fredonia 5
- Hood took the lead in the third inning with a two-out rally. Blasko laid down a bunt single and stole second. Barthlow followed with an RBI single to left field for the 1-0 lead.
- Gottleib tripled to drive in a run in the fourth, then scored on a base hit by Hetzel to stretch the lead to 3-0.
- A Maria Caviris double was the only baserunner Benden allowed in the first three innings before the Blue Devils scored in the fourth. Alyssa Santiago led off the inning with a bunt single, but the ball was thrown away and Santiago scurried all the way to third. Amber Piniewski followed with an infield hit that scored Santiago to cut the Blazers' lead to 3-1.
- Benden escaped a bases-loaded, no out jam in the fifth. Alissa Piniewski singled, Hannah Mezzoprete was hit by a pitch and Megan Guidry reached on a bunt base hit to start the inning. Benden forced a pop up to third, struck out the next hitter, then got Amber Piniewski to foul out to the catcher, Kaelyn Blocher, to work out of trouble.
- The Blazers extended the lead to 5-1 in the top of the sixth. Benden reached on an error with one out and moved to second on a single by Kiersten Tomshack. Gottleib collected her second extra-base hit of the game, doubling down the line in left field to score Benden. Hetzel once again backed up Gottleib's hit with one of her own, knocking in Tomshack with a single to right.
- Three straight two-out doubles by the Blue Devils in the bottom of the inning cut Hood's lead back to two. Emily Chelius started the rally with a double to center. Alyssa Piniewski drove her in with a double to left-center. The Blazers then turned to Casey out of the bullpen, and she was greeted by Mezzoprete's RBI double, which made it 5-3 when Piniewski scored.
- Blasko led off the seventh with her second bunt single of the day and advanced to third on a double by Barthlow. Angela Acampora hit a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Blasko for a 6-3 lead. Hood increased the lead to four runs on a run-scoring single by Casey, knocking in Delanie Henry, who pinch ran for Barthlow.
- Allie Wandell reached on an error to start the bottom of the seventh. Amber Piniewski tripled with one out to pull Fredonia within 7-4. An RBI double by Nicole Kumro summoned Benden back to the pitcher's circle. Benden retired Caviris and pinch-hitter Victoria Pauwels to end the game.
For the Blue Devils
- Amber Piniewski, Kumro and Ally Piniewski all had two hits for Fredonia.
- Kumro, Ally Piniewski, Caviris, Chelius and Mezzoprete all doubled, while Amber Piniewski had a triple.
- Chelius started and took the loss. She allowed six earned runs on 11 hits over six innings. Vanessa Galbraith tossed a scoreless seventh.
Hood 5, Hamilton 4
- The Blazers scored four runs in the first and another in the second to notch their second win of the day.
- The Continentals took a 1-0 lead in the top fo the first when Katlynn McGivney led off the game wth a single, stole second and scored on a sacrifice fly by Ella Heftved.
- In the bottom of the inning, Blasko, Barthlow and Jocelyn Pfleiger walked in succession to load the bases with no one out. After the trio of walks, Hood reeled off four straight singles. Benden tied the game with a base hit to left. Gottleib drove in Barthlow and Pfleiger to put the Blazers on top 3-1. After Tomshack singled to load the bases again, Hetzel drove in the fourth run of the inning with a base hit to right field.
- Gottleib picked up her third RBI of the game in the second inning with a double to left that drove in Pfleiger for a 5-1 advantage.
- Gottleib then retired 12 of the next 13 hitters she faced before Hamilton broke through in the sixth. Natalie Beebe stroked a two-run double to right center cutting the Blazers' lead to 5-3.
- Hood committed three errors in the seventh, but the Continentals scored just once in the frame before Gottleib retired the final two hitters to preserve the win.
For the Continentals
- The top two spots in Hamilton's order combined for five of the Continentals' six hits. McGivney and Emma Tansky had two apiece, while Beebe replaced Tansky and had a hit in her only plate appearance.
- Teagan Graham took the loss. She started and allowed the first five hitters to reach base, allowing four runs on three walks and two hits.
- Beebe allowed one run in three innings before Tansky finished the game with three shutout innings.
Notes
- Hood improved to 7-5 on the season, matching the Blazers' win total from all of last season.
- The loss was the first of the year for Hamilton (5-1), while Fredonia dropped to 1-9.
- It was the first meeting between Hood and the Continentals, while the Blazers picked up their second win in as many meetings against Fredonia.
Up Next
Hood wraps up its spring break trip with games against Macalester at 10:30 a.m. and The College of Wooster at 12:30 p.m. on Mar. 18.
