DAVENPORT, Pa. (March 10) – The Vulcans closed play in Florida on Thursday afternoon with a split of one-run games at THE Spring Games, posting a 2-1 extra-inning victory against Cedarville (Ohio) before suffering a 1-0 loss versus Northwood (Mich.).

With the split, the California University of Pennsylvania softball team moves to 9-6 this season behind a 6-3 mark in the Sunshine State. The Vulcans played teams from eight different states while in Florida.

Against Cedarville (11-4), the Vulcans posted a second-straight win in extra innings via international tiebreaker. Cal U erased the runner at third base on a pick-off in the top of the eighth before claiming the walk-off victory. In the bottom of the inning, junior Mackenzie Carson (Tucson, Ariz./Cienega) lined a single through the left side to advance the winning run to third base. Sophomore second baseman Salena Jaquay (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) then scored the go-ahead run on a fielder's choice to first base, 2-1.

Senior Kelsey Barron (La Salle, Mich./St. Mary Catholic Central) earned the complete-game victory to improve to 4-3 this spring. She allowed one run (earned) on four hits and zero walks with four strikeouts in 8.0 innings.

The Yellow Jackets took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fifth on a solo homer by center fielder Faith Bergner before leaving runners on first and second. Cal U countered with one run in the bottom of the inning when freshman left fielder Carlena Fiorilli (Mount Vernon, Ohio/Mount Vernon) scored from second on a throwing error. Cedarville threatened to break the tie in the seventh with a runner on third before Barron induced a ground-out to end the inning.

Versus Northwood (9-4), the Vulcans allowed the lone run of the contest with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. Freshman Caleigh Rister (Bucyrus, Ohio/Bucyrus) suffered the loss to drop to 5-2 this season. She yielded one run (unearned) while scattering two hits and one walk over 6.2 innings pitched while posting four strikeouts.

Cal U stranded two runners on base in the second and Jaquay was left at third following a triple in the bottom of the fifth. In the sixth, the Vulcans collected back-to-back singles and later drew a two-out walk to load the bases before a strikeout ended the inning.

Rister retired 12-straight batters before the Timberwolves took advantage of two errors on a play in the bottom of the seventh. Northwood then followed with a walk-off single up the middle with two outs, 1-0.

Over the nine games in Florida, senior catcher Brooke Wilson (Coraopolis, Pa./West Allegheny) led the team with a .452 average (14-for-31) and freshman shortstop Kaitlyn Achtermeier (Gilford, Ontario/Bill Crothers) paced the team with 12 RBI while hitting at a .355 clip (11-for-31). Rister posted a 4-1 record and a 0.24 ERA over 28.2 innings pitched in five starts, plus finished with 10 RBI and 11 runs scored.

The Vulcans are scheduled to return in nearly two weeks when they host a non-conference doubleheader against Edinboro on March 22 at Lilley Field.