ERIE, Pa. (April 6) – Seniors
Emilee Downing (Groveport, Ohio/Groveport Madison) and
Carly Konopka (McMurray, Pa./Peters Township) each belted homers on Saturday afternoon, as the Vulcans registered a doubleheader sweep at Mercyhurst in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play with a 7-2 win in Game 1 and an 8-0 run-rule victory in Game 2.
With the sweep, the California University of Pennsylvania softball team improves to 7-15 this season with a 3-3 mark in divisional action. Meanwhile, the Lakers fall to 6-21 overall with a 2-4 record in conference play.
In Game 1, Downing improved to 2-4 this season with a complete-game victory while also belting a three-run homer in the contest. She allowed two runs (both earned) on five hits and two walks with five strikeouts over 7.0 innings. Mercyhurst starter Tori Pierucci (4-10) suffered the loss after surrendering six runs (two earned) on seven hits and three walks in 4.0 innings.
Cal U took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when sophomore catcher
Brooke Wilson (Coraopolis, Pa./West Allegheny) scored on a two-out error after leading off the game with a single. In the second, Wilson reached on a two-out error and senior second baseman
Taylor Robblee (Woodstock, Ontario/College Avenue) followed with a single before Downing registered her second homer of the season, 4-0.
In the fourth, the Vulcans loaded the bases on a leadoff single by sophomore shortstop
Alexa Pastor (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) and back-to-back walks before Pastor scored on a wild pitch. Junior left fielder
Sierra Besser-Paul (Montreal, Quebec/Howard S. Billings) later delivered an RBI single to extend the lead 6-0. Wilson stretched the advantage to 7-0 with a two-out RBI double in the top of the fifth. Mercyhurst avoided the shutout by scoring two runs on two hits and one walk in the sixth, 7-2.
Wilson reached base safely four times from the leadoff spot, finishing 2-for-4 with one RBI, three runs scored and one walk.
In Game 2, the Vulcans earned their first run-rule victory of the season, as eight different players collected at least one hit and one run scored. Besser-Paul went 3-for-3 with one run scored and one RBI.
Cal U took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on an RBI single by Besser-Paul that scored Wilson from second. The Vulcans recorded a rare triple play on a strikeout in the bottom of the second with outs being recorded on both corners during the play. Mercyhurst loaded the bases with two outs in the third before a ground-out ended the inning.
The Vulcans loaded the bases in the fourth before the Lakers recorded a force out at the plate. Konopka then delivered a grand slam with two outs to stretch the lead to 5-0. Cal U batted around in the fifth, forcing the run-rule victory after scoring three runs on four hits. Robblee started the inning with a double before scoring on an error. Following a strikeout, Pastor collected a two-run single with the bases loaded to increase the advantage to 8-0.
Robblee improved to 5-5 this season after tossing her second complete-game shutout of the year. She scattered three hits and three walks over 5.0 innings with four strikeouts. Laker starter Laura Gregory (1-9) was saddled with the loss after yielding eight runs (seven earned) on seven hits in 4.0-plus innings.
Cal U returns to action tomorrow, Sunday, April 7, when it hosts Gannon for a doubleheader in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania, at 2 p.m.
