GWYNEDD VALLEY, Pa. – The Cabrini softball team suffered its first Colonial States Athletic Conference defeat tonight, after splitting a pair of games at Gwynedd Mercy.
The Blue and White opened the day's action with a 6-2 win over the Griffins, before it fell 2-0 in the nightcap. As a result of the split, the Cavaliers improve to 14-11 overall and 11-1 in the CSAC.
Junior
Lindsay Savar put the Blue and White on the board early in the opener, as her RBI single up the middle in the first inning, plated senior
Kaitlyn Cooper.
In the second inning, sophomore
Alexandria Ramos and junior
Taylor Mack crossed home plate on an infield error. Sophomore
Christine Ferraro came home to score on a Cooper single through the middle of the infield.
In the bottom half of the third inning, the Griffins got two runs back on a pair of hits and errors.
Ferraro extended the Cavaliers' lead in the fourth, as the sophomore stole third base and made her way home after a throw to third base went off line.
In the sixth inning, Savar connected on a pitch and turned it into two bases, while freshman
Marissa Alpaugh scored on the double.
Sophomore
Jess Giordano's stellar play in the pitcher's circle continued. The sophomore pitcher improved to 7-4 after another top notch outing, striking out five Griffins and allowing just seven hits and one earned run along the way.
Ferraro, Cooper, Alpaugh, Savar, Giordano and Ramos all tallied a pair of hits, while Savar and Cooper combined for three RBI.
Pitching was the story in game two, as the Cavaliers and Griffins remained scoreless through five innings and combined for just 16 hits.
The Blue and White had a chance to enter the scoring column in the fourth but failed, stranding three runners. With two outs, freshman
Darian Caputo drew the walk to load the bases but a Cavaliers' ground out ended their scoring bid.
The Blue and White had another prime scoring opportunity in the fifth inning, with two outs and the bases loaded once again, before the inning ended on another ground out.
The Griffins capitalized on the Cavaliers' missed opportunities in the sixth, scoring a pair of runs on three hits.
The Blue and White had its rally hat on with two outs and runners in scoring position in the seventh, but a ground out ended the run.
Despite the loss, the Cavaliers out hit the Griffins 10-6. Alpaugh and Savar had solid games in the batter's box, going 3-4 and 2-4, respectively.
Junior
Kiley Sharp pitched six innings and held the Griffins to just two earned runs.
Cabrini hosts the defending CSAC Champion Neumann University Knights tomorrow at Cabrini Field for a 12 p.m. doubleheader.
The Cavaliers and Knights played the league's final game of 2015, as Neumann scored a 7-2 victory in the CSAC championship game.
The Blue and White scored one run in the first but the Knights responded with four runs in the bottom half. The Cavaliers cut the deficit to two runs in the second inning, as Savar scored on a Cabrini single.
Neumann extended its lead to 6-2, after a two run fifth inning. The Knights added one more run for insurance purposes in the sixth to down the Cavaliers and capture the crown.
The Knights have been a tough out of late, having won their last eight games. Neumann (11-11, 8-0 CSAC) overtook the top spot in the conference after today's 8-0 and 9-0 wins over Rosemont, while the Cavaliers fell to second in the CSAC after today's split.
In 50 at bats, sophomore Kara Grogan is batting .400 on the season for the Knights. Senior Danielle Grayson is averaging .364 and leads the team with 19 RBI and two home runs, while freshman Julia Cox holds a team high 25 hits in 63 at bats.
Junior Haley Broomell is 5-4 in the pitcher's circle for Neumann and leads all Knights with 32 strike outs. Senior Lauren Wilkie is 2-4 on the year and holds a team best 3.17 ERA, to go with 25 strike outs.
