CLERMONT, Fla. (March 10) – The California University of Pennsylvania softball team posted a split in a pair of one-run contests at the PFX Spring Games on Tuesday afternoon, suffering a 2-1 loss in extra innings to Salem before claiming a 1-0 victory over Saint Thomas Aquinas (N.Y.).
With the split, the Vulcans stand at 3-9 overall while playing in both Arizona and Florida this year.
Cal U suffered a 2-1 loss against Salem after the game was forced to the international tiebreaker following the seventh inning. With a runner on second, the Tigers collected a single before later scoring the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly. The Vulcans had runners on the corners in the bottom of the inning with one out before a pop-out and ground-out ended the game.
Freshman
Ellie Lobdell (Warren, Pa./Warren) suffered the loss after allowing two runs (zero earned) on seven hits and two walks in 8.0 innings. She now stands at 2-3 this year while leading the team with a 1.07 ERA behind four complete games.
The Vulcans took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when junior catcher
Brooke Wilson (Coraopolis, Pa./West Allegheny) scored on a ground-out. Cal U later loaded the bases with a pair of walks before a called third strike ended the inning. Salem responded in the second when catcher Morgan Atkinson scored on an error after reaching base on a triple.
In the top of the fourth, Salem loaded the bases with two outs before Wilson recorded the final out of the inning with a pickoff at third base. The Tigers later left a runner in scoring position in each of the next three innings before the game was forced to the international tiebreaker.
Against Saint Thomas Aquinas (0-8), the Vulcans scored the lone run of the contest in the top of the first and sophomore
Kelsey Barron (La Salle, Mich./St. Mary Catholic Central) recorded the complete-game shutout. She scattered two hits and issued four walks over 7.0 innings while earning her first victory of the year (1-4).
Wilson led off the game with a walk and advanced to third on a pair of ground-outs before scoring on a RBI single by freshman second baseman
Kira Hillhouse (Erie, Pa./McDowell). The Spartans threatened to counter in the bottom of the second with a runner on third before a ground-out halted the inning.
In the top of the seventh, Hillhouse started the inning with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Freshman
Izzy Farmer (West Mifflin, Pa./West Mifflin) collected a pinch-hit single before the next two batters were retired to end the inning. Saint Thomas Aquinas had runners on second and third in the bottom of the seventh before a ground-out closed the contest.
Hillhouse went 2-for-3 with one RBI while hitting cleanup for the first time in her career.
Cal U continues play in The Sunshine State tomorrow, Wednesday, March 11, when it faces St. Cloud State (Minn.) and Sioux Falls (S.D.), starting at 10 a.m.
