FREDERICK, Md. – The Hood College softball team secured a spot in the Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth playoffs after a 9-1 and 11-3 sweep of conference opponent Albright College, ending both games in six innings.
At the Plate
Sam Larkin (Pasadena, Md/Chesapeake High School) went 5-9 with three RBIs on the day, smacking a double in both games and hitting a home run in game one.
Rebecca Gottleib (Linthicum, Md./North County) hit 2-4 with two RBIs, a double and a home run in the second game.
Jocelyn Pfleiger (Quakertown, Pa./Dock Mennonite Academy) hit 5-7 across both games with a double and an RBI in game two.
Kara Heidlauf (Mount Joy, Pa./Donegal High School) went 4-7 with six RBIs over both matches, hitting a double in the second game.
Hanna Janke (Calgary, Alberta, Can./Bishop Carroll) batted a thousand in the first game of the day, going 2-2 with a walk.
Lizzie McConnell (Stevensville, Md./Kent Island) finished the day 3-6 with a triple in game one.
In the Circle
Gottleib got the nod for both games, combining for 10 strikeouts and just four total earned runs as she picked up her 11th and 12th wins of the season.
Hood 9, Albright 1
The Lions struck their first time at the plate, with a leadoff single being brought around for an early 1-0 lead, but the Blazers brought Gottleib around to tie the game after she drew a leadoff walk.
After neither squad put anything up in the second, Larkin sent the first pitch she saw to the press box as a souvenir for the field hockey alumni team playing on the turf, taking the lead back for Hood.
With Gottleib allowing just one baserunner in the top of the fourth, the Blazers broke the game open in the bottom of the inning, with a triple from McConnell starting a five-run blitz that kept the home crowd on their feet seeing the team up 7-1.
Albright's bats were kept quiet again in the fifth and Hood had a chance to walk the game off in the fifth with the mercy rule after Larkin drove in a run and put the winning run on third, but a hard-hit ball to third kept the game going into the sixth.
Fortunately for the Blazers, the Lions went down in order in the top of the sixth, and all it took was a leadoff single from Heidlauf, double from
Sammy McIntosh (Frederick, Md./Gov. Thomas Johnson), and a single from
Gabby Carton (Middletown, N.J./Middletown North) to activate the mercy rule and give Hood a 9-1 win.
Hood 11, Albright 3
This time around it would be the Blazers who got on the board first, with Larkin touching all four bases to give them the 1-0 lead.
Unfortunately, the next amount of scoring was also inversed from the last game, as the Lions led off the second inning with a solo shot before putting up two more runs that put Hood in a 3-1 hole.
Although they were unable to answer in the bottom of that inning, the Blazers decided being down for a full inning was more than enough, as Heidlauf, McIntosh, and Janke led a two-out rally that scored four runs to springboard themselves back into a 5-3 advantage.
No one managed to score anything in the fourth, but after
Karsyn Barrick (Frederick, Md./Walkersville) came in to pinch run for Pfleiger in the bottom of the fifth, a double from Heidlauf and a gutsy send call at third allowed her to score from first and extend the lead.
Albright managed to get a runner in scoring position in the top of the sixth, and although it was unable to score her, Hood realized it needed to end things early to secure the win.
After McConnell got on base to start the inning, Gottleib came up and remembered Larkin's strategy of swinging on the first pitch that produced a home run in the previous game, replicating the play to perfection as the resulting line drive went over the fence for a two-run home run.
From that point on the Blazers were in full control, getting on base at will until a sac fly from McIntosh scored
Anna Sommerkamp (Mechanicsville, Md./Chopticon) from third to end the game early once again with the scoreboard reading 11-3 in favor of Hood.
For the Opponent
Juliette Licata went 3-5 with a walk over both games, stealing a base.
Slaydon Fisher hit a home run in game two.
Notes
Hood finishes the regular season 22-16 (8-6), while Albright wraps up its year 3-31 (0-14).
With two wins today and help from Eastern and Alvernia, the Blazers have secured the No. 3 seed in the MAC Commonwealth playoffs.
Up Next
The Blazers have officially qualified for the MAC Commonwealth Championships, and official schedules with dates and times of the next games will be announced as soon as they are made available.
