FREDERICK, Md. – The Hood College softball team combined for 22 hits in a clean sweep of Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth foe Widener University, winning game one 13-3 in five innings and game two 10-2 in six innings.
At the Plate
Rebecca Gottleib (Linthicum, Md./North County) went 3-6 with a walk and six RBIs on the day, hitting a double in game one and a grand slam in game two.
Sam Larkin (Pasadena, Md/Chesapeake High School) batted 2-3 with four RBIs and two doubles in the first game.
Jocelyn Pfleiger (Quakertown, Pa./Dock Mennonite Academy) hit 4-7 across both games, smacking a home run in game two.
Kara Heidlauf (Mount Joy, Pa./Donegal High School) hit two doubles, going 2-4 in the second game.
Lizzie McConnell (Stevensville, Md./Kent Island) and
Bailey Pysher (Pottstown, Pa/Pottsgrove) both had 2-3 appearances in game one, with Pysher adding two RBIs to her line.
In the Circle
Gottleib struck out 11 batters in the five-inning game one win.
Sydney Weaver (Landisville, Pa./Hempfield) allowed just two earned runs to pick up her sixth win of the season in game two.
Hood 13, Widener 3
The Pride jumped on Gottleib early, scoring twice in the first and once more in the second for an early 3-0 lead, but Gottleib was able to collect herself to strike out the final batter of each inning to stop the bleeding.
Despite being down early, the Blazers showed out big time in the bottom of the second, batting around the order as doubles from Larkin and Pysher helped Hood flip the script and jump out to an 8-3 lead and force an early pitching change from Widener.
Gottleib got into another jam in the third when the Pride managed to load the bases with no one out, but that did not faze her at all, attacking the zone and getting the next three batters to strike out and get out of it herself.
The Blazers we able to carry the momentum from the top of the inning into the bottom half, putting up five more runs to make it a 13-3 game after just three innings of play.
Neither team pushed anyone across in the fourth, and with Widener down to its last three outs before invoking the mercy rule in the fifth, a leadoff single would be all the offense it would muster, with Gottleib striking out the next batter before ending it with her 11th a couple batters later.
Hood 10, Widener 2
It took four innings before either team could get runs on the board, but the Pride kicked things off once again with a two-run home run from Paris Balilonis. Fortunately, Hood wasted little time responding, pushing three across to take a 3-2 advantage.
Weaver shut things down in the top of the fifth, and a Pfleiger solo shot in the bottom of the inning put the Blazers ahead by two as they looked to continue their momentum.
Another one-hit inning from Weaver put Hood's bats up quickly, and it wasted little time lighting them up again, loading the bases with just one out. An
Anna Sommerkamp (Mechanicsville, Md./Chopticon) single pushed one across to make it 5-2, then Gottleib came up and hit a towering
shot that almost went over the outfield net for a grand slam to break the game open.
Sammy McIntosh (Frederick, Md./Gov. Thomas Johnson) pinch ran for Pfleiger after the latter got on base with two outs, and after a wild pitch put McIntosh on second, Heidlauf came up and smacked a double to right field that scored McIntosh and walked the Blazers off via mercy rule for a 10-2 win and a series sweep.
For the Opponent
Balilonis went 2-2 with two RBIs and a home run in game two.
Katelyn Tong hit 2-2 with a walk, a double, and a stolen base in the first game.
Notes
Hood improves to 18-14 (5-5), while Widener drops to 13-18 (3-7).
Up Next
The Blazers have a break from MAC Commonwealth play with a doubleheader against Elizabethtown College Monday, April 21 at 3 and 5 p.m.
