• Box Score vs. Salem International
• Box Score vs. Fairmont State

SALEM, Va. (March 16) – The No. 16 California University of Pennsylvania softball team extended its winning streak to 14 games with a pair of victories at the Salem Invitational on Saturday, earning an 8-1 win over Salem International and a 6-2 victory against Fairmont State.

With the victories, the Vulcans open the year at 14-0 overall and are the only undefeated team in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Top 25 poll. Cal U has out-scored its three opponents at the weekend invitational by a combined 16-3 margin.

Against Salem International (6-7), freshman Haley Bashada (Belle Vernon, Pa./Belle Vernon) earned her first career win while tossing a complete game. She allowed one run (earned) on six hits and established a career high with six strikeouts in 7.0 innings (81 pitches). After the first inning, Bashada allowed only three base runners and prevented all of them from reaching beyond second base.

The Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on a pair of doubles before the Vulcans tied the score in the bottom of the inning with a solo homer by sophomore center fielder Shelby Heyd (Innisfil, Ontario/Nantyr Shores Secondary). In the fifth, Cal U broke the tie by scoring seven runs – all unearned – on six hits and three errors. Freshman third baseman Natalya Smarra (McKees Rocks, Pa./Sto-Rox) reached on an error before advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt.  Heyd then followed with a single and advanced to third on an error that allowed Smarra to score from second. Freshman first baseman Lindsay Reicoff (Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley) followed with an RBI double before scoring on a single by junior second baseman Shelby Lia (Whitby, Ontario/Donald A. Wilson). Following another fielding error, freshman designated player Tiffany Koenig (Levittown, Pa./Harry S. Truman) lined an RBI double before freshman left fielder Erica Vallecorsa (Latham, N.Y./Shaker) collected a two-out, two-run double to center field. Smarra closed the scoring with an RBI single in her second at-bat of the inning, 8-1.

In only her third career start, Koenig went 3-for-3 with one RBI and one run scored. Heyd finished 2-for-2 with two RBI and two runs while batting No. 2 in the lineup, while Lia and Reicoff both collected two hits.

Against Fairmont State (6-3), junior Hope Spancake (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove) earned the victory after yielding two runs (both earned) on five hits and one walk in 5.2 innings. Freshman Alex Sagl (Oakville, Ontario/Oakville Trafalgar), who started the game in right field, recorded her first career save after tossing 1.1 innings of no-hit, scoreless relief.

Cal U took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on a two-out RBI single by sophomore shortstop Breanna Morris (Waynesburg, Pa./Waynesburg Central). The Vulcans added to their lead in the second when Vallecorsa scored on a passed ball, 2-0, before Fairmont State tied the game in the bottom of the inning with a two-out, two-run double.

In the fourth, the Vulcans manufactured a pair of runs on just one single to take a 4-2 lead. Lia led off the inning with a walk and Sagl reached on an error before both runners moved into scoring position on a ground-out. Vallecorsa then delivered an RBI single before Sagl scored on a sacrifice fly. Cal U added to its lead in the fifth on a two-out RBI double by Lia, 5-2. The Fighting Falcons looked to answer in the sixth with two runners in scoring position before Sagl walked the first batter she faced to load the bases with two outs. She then induced a ground-out to end the inning and preserve the lead. The Vulcans added an insurance run in the seventh when junior catcher Natalie Wideman (Mississauga, Ontario/Streetsville Secondary) scored on a sacrifice fly. 

Vallecorsa and Wideman both finished with two hits in the victory, while Wideman also scored twice.

Cal U concludes play in Virginia tomorrow, Sunday, March 17, when it faces Shepherd and Charleston (W.Va.).