• Box Score vs. Tiffin
• Box Score vs. Mount Olive
• Box Score vs. West Virginia Wesleyan
• Box Score vs. Alderson Broaddus
• Box Score vs. Claflin

RALEIGH, N.C. (Feb. 23) – The No. 20 California University of Pennsylvania softball team opened the season by winning three of five games at the Shaw Softball Challenge on Saturday and Sunday.

The Vulcans open the year at 3-2 with victories over Tiffin (Ohio), Alderson Broaddus (W.Va.) and Claflin (S.C.), while suffering losses to Mount Olive (N.C.) and West Virginia Wesleyan.

Against Tiffin, sophomore Alex Sagl (Oakville, Ontario/Oakville Trafalgar) finished the game with three hits and earned the win on the mound as the Vulcans claimed a 7-1 victory. Sagl tossed a complete-game and limited Tiffin to one run on three hits, while striking out four. At the plate, Sagl finished 3-for-4 with an RBI and a double.

Cal U got on the scoreboard first with a pair of runs in the third inning. Senior Shelby Lia (Whitby, Ontario/Donald A. Wilson) singled and stole second before sophomore Lindsay Reicoff (Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley) singled in the first run. The Vulcans earned a second run in the inning on a failed pickoff attempt by the catcher to take a 2-0 lead.

Sagl got things started in the fourth with a leadoff double and eventually scored on another failed pickoff attempt to give Cal U a 3-0 lead. The Vulcans tacked another run when sophomore Natalya Smarra (McKees Rocks, Pa./Sto-Rox) smacked an RBI double to put Cal U on top 4-0. The Dragons broke through with a run in the sixth inning, but Cal U pulled away with a three-run seventh inning, including an RBI single from Sagl to clinch the victory.

Lia finished the game 2-for-4 with two runs scored and junior Breanna Morris (Waynesburg, Pa./Waynesburg Central) finished 1-for-3 with two runs scored.

In the Vulcans second game they were defeated by Mount Olive 6-5. The Trojans jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the first inning, but Cal U chipped away at the deficit. Freshman Kaity Finley (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe) connected on a two-run single in her first career at-bat to pull the Vulcans within one run after two innings.

After the Trojans tacked on a run in the bottom of the second, Cal U evened the game in the fourth when Lia drove in a pair of runs to tie the game at 4-4. Mount Olive regained the lead in the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run, but the Vulcans battled back with a run in the sixth to tie the game at 5-5.

After Cal U was held scoreless in the top of the seventh, Mount Olive led off the bottom of the inning with a triple. After a pair of intentional walks to load the bases, the Trojans picked up a one-out, base-hit to drive in the winning run.

Freshman Kaity Davis (Massillon, Ohio/Jackson) tossed 6.1 innings in relief for the Vulcans and was charged with the loss. She allowed three runs on three hits and struck out four in her first career appearance.

The Vulcans were defeated 8-0 by West Virginia Wesleyan in five innings in the team's third game Saturday. Sagl took the loss for the Vulcans after she was tagged for six runs (four earned) on six hits in 3.0 innings of work.

The Bobcats jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning and added two in the third, one in the fourth, and a pair of runs in the sixth to earn the run-rule win. Cal U tallied only two hits over the five innings of play and were limited to one runner in scoring postion for the game.  

In a 4-0 win over Alderson Broaddus, Sagl tossed a two-hit, complete-game shutout and recorded eight strikeouts. She retired the final 10 batters of the game to earn the shutout and the victory for the Vulcans.

The first four Cal U batters connected for base-hits, including doubles from Morris and Lia, as the Vulcans jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning. The score remaining the same until the seventh inning when Cal U tacked on a pair of insurance runs to take a 4-0 lead. The first three batters of the inning all reached base, including a pinch-hit, RBI single from freshman Megan Jahoda (Buchanan, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson).

Finley led Cal U at the plate with a 2-for-3 performance, including an RBI and a run scored.

In the 7-4 win over Claflin, Smarra connected on a game-winning, two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth to lead Cal U to the victory.

Clafin jumped out to a 2-0 lead with a run in the second and third innings before the Vulcans tallied four runs in the third to take the lead. After senior Natalie Wideman (Mississauga, Ontario/Streetsville Secondary) got Cal U on the scoreboard with a sacrifice fly, three-straight batters drove in runs. Sophomore Erica Vallecorsa (Latham, N.Y./Shaker) delivered an RBI double, Smarra singled in a run and junior Shelby Heyd (Innisfil, Ontario/Nantyr Shores Secondary) drove in another run to give the Vulcans a 4-2 lead.

The Panthers climbed back into the game with a run in the fourth and a home run in the fifth to even the game, but the Vulcans reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the fifth when Smarra connected on a two-run home run. Finley added an RBI double before the inning was over to give the Vulcans another insurance run.

Sagl limited Claflin to one hit and struck out three in 3.0 innings of relief to earn the win. Davis allowed four runs on six hits and struck out two over 4.0 innings in her first career start.

Smarra led the Vulcans at the plate, going 2-for-3 with three RBI and a run scored, while Lia, Finley and Vellecorsa each finished with a pair of hits.

Cal U will have nearly three weeks off until its next games when it competes at the Salem Invitiational in Salem, Va. The Vulcans open play in Virginia on March 14 when they face Charleston (W.Va.) at 1 p.m.