FREDERICK, Md. – A pair of home runs courtesy of
Kara Heidlauf (Mount Joy, Pa./Donegal High School) and
Rebecca Gottleib (Linthicum, Md./North County) propelled the Hood College softball team to a sweep of Notre Dame of Maryland University, walking the Gators off 10-9 in game one and mercy-ruling them 9-1 in game two.
At the Plate
Gottleib went 4-6 with two walks, three RBIs, and a home run across both games.
Heidlauf batted a combined 3-4 on the day, hitting a home run, driving in three runs, and getting walked in all three at-bats in the second game.
Lizzie McConnell (Stevensville, Md./Kent Island) went 5-7 on the afternoon, driving in two runs in game two.
Sam Waters (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck) hit 2-3 in the day's second game, scoring once and knocking a run in.
In the Circle
Sara Munson (Inwood, W.Va./Musselman) picked up her first win of the season in game one, allowing four runs.
Waters allowed just one run off four hits in the five-inning game two victory.
Hood 10, NDMU 9
The Gators went to work immediately, following the first run of the game up with a grand slam to jump out to a 5-0 lead. The Blazers managed to put two runs of their own on the board but could not get any more across before the end of the inning.
NDMU added another run in the top of the third to regain their four-run lead, but a two-run bomb by Heidlauf in the bottom half of the inning sparked a Hood outburst that tied things up 6-6.
After adding a run in the fourth and two more in the fifth, the Blazers looked to end the game without having to play the bottom of the seventh, but the Gators would not go down easily, putting two runners on before hitting a game-tying home run.
Despite the next batter singling to keep the pressure on, Munson got the next three down without any extra trouble, keeping Hood very much in it.
McConnell,
Bailey Pysher (Pottstown, Pa/Pottsgrove), and Gottleib were due up in the bottom of the seventh, and those were the only players needed to finish things, with McConnell starting the inning with a successful bunt, moving to third on a deep double from Pysher, and
completing the journey around the diamond with a single from Gottleib to give the Blazers a 10-9 win.
Hood 9, NDMU 1
It looked like another grim start for Hood, as the first NDMU batter smacked a home run for the game's first run, but Waters stayed calm and allowed just one more baserunner before retiring the side herself.
On the other hand, the Blazers decided to take a page out of the Gators' book by smashing the game open in the bottom of the first, sending 12 batters to the plate and scoring seven runs to chase NDMU's starting pitcher and snatch a 7-1 lead.
Neither team managed to score in the second inning, but Hood loaded the bases in the bottom of the third and made it count, plating two runners for a 9-1 advantage and putting the Gators in danger of being mercy-ruled.
With no scoring in the fourth, NDMU needed at least one run to force the bottom of the fifth inning to be played, but Waters got the first three batters she saw out to enact the eight-run mercy rule and secure her first win of the season.
For the Opponent
Bethani Newbold went 4-4 with a home run and two RBIs in game one.
Charlene Torres and Lilyian Hafner both hit home runs in the first game.
Up Next
The Blazers have their All Hood, All Blue matchup against Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth opponent Messiah University Saturday, April 5 at 1 and 3 p.m.
