ARLINGTON, Va. – The Hood College softball team came away with two gritty wins against non-conference foe Marymount University, coming away with a 7-5 nine-inning marathon of a win for game one and a comeback 6-4 victory in game two.
At the Plate
Sara Munson (Inwood, W.Va./Musselman) went 2-2 with a double and two RBIs in game one.
Jocelyn Pfleiger (Quakertown, Pa./Dock Mennonite Academy) batted 1-2 with two walks in the second game.
Rebecca Gottleib (Linthicum, Md./North County) hit 2-2 with two walks, a double, and an RBI in game two.
Kara Heidlauf (Mount Joy, Pa./Donegal High School) went 2-3 with a walk and a three-run home run in the nightcap.
In the Circle
Gottleib struck out eight batters while allowing three earned runs in the game one win.
Sydney Weaver (Landisville, Pa./Hempfield) whiffed five batters as she picked up her fifth win of the season in game two.
Hood 7, Marymount 5 (9 inn.)
The Saints struck first with a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning, but Gottleib settled back in and struck out the last batter to end the inning only down a pair.
Neither team plated any runs for the next two innings, and a leadoff home run from Marymount in the fourth inning would be the only score for the next two after that.
Getting into crunch time in the top of the sixth, the Blazers came alive, loading the bases with only one out before finally getting on the board when a
Bailey Pysher (Pottstown, Pa/Pottsgrove) single drove in
Hannah Nagy (Mercersberg, Pa./James Buchannon) from third. That was not all Hood had in the tank though, as Munson came up next and smacked a double to the right field fence to score two more to tie the game 3-3.
The next nine batters went down in a row, giving the crowd some free softball in just the first game, and after both squads scored their ghost runner on second base and nothing else, the audience likely scratched their heads as they wondered if they had accidentally gone to a baseball game as the scoreboard flicked to the ninth inning.
Thankfully, the ninth inning would be the last, as the Blazers sent three runners home thanks for a two-RBI double from Pfleiger. The Saints did manage to score once in the bottom of the ninth, but Gottleib struck out two of the last three batters to secure the 7-5 win.
Hood 6, Marymount 4
Although Hood drew first blood with a run in the top of the first after loading the bases, it could not score any more, and Marymount responded with a three-run home run in the bottom of the inning snatch the lead.
Anna Sommerkamp (Mechanicsville, Md./Chopticon) scored in the second to cut the Blazers' deficit to just one, but a solo shot from the Saints in the bottom of the third restored their two-run advantage.
With Hood threatening with runners on first and second and just one out in the top of the fifth, Heidlauf flipped the momentum firmly in favor of the Blazers as she sent a blast over the center field wall and give the visitors a 5-4 lead.
One more insurance run in the seventh gave Hood a two-run lead of their own, and Weaver got herself out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the seventh to secure the sweep for the Blazers.
For the Opponent
Kaylynn Johnson hit three home runs across both games.
Hailey Leamer hit 2-4 with a home run in the first game.
Up Next
Hood returns to Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth play with a road doubleheader against Eastern University Sunday, April 13 at 1 and 3 p.m.
