EDINBORO, Pa. (April 30) – The California University of Pennsylvania softball team closed the regular season with a doubleheader split at Edinboro in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action on Saturday afternoon, earning a 6-2 win in Game 1 before suffering a 4-0 loss in Game 2.
With the split, the Vulcans finish the regular season with a 22-11 record behind a 12-4 mark in conference play. The Vulcans earned a share of the PSAC West title for the first time since the 2016 campaign and claimed the top seed from the division in the upcoming league tournament due to the head-to-head tiebreaker. Meanwhile, Edinboro finishes the year at 8-23 overall behind a 6-10 record in league action.
In Game 1, sophomore right fielder
Charity Henderson (Scottdale, Pa./Southmoreland) went 4-for-4 with two RBI and one run scored, while freshman shortstop
Kaitlyn Achtermeier (Gilford, Ontario/Bill Crothers) finished 2-for-3 with one RBI and two runs scored. Senior catcher
Brooke Wilson (Coraopolis, Pa./West Allegheny) tallied two hits, one run scored and one RBI from the leadoff spot.
Cal U took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first after a walk and two hits to start the inning. Sophomore first baseman
Shayna Postler (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) collected an RBI single to left field before the Vulcans extended their lead in the top of the third as sophomore third baseman
Britney Wilson (Coraopolis, Pa./West Allegheny) recorded an RBI single up the middle, 2-0.
In the fourth,
Brooke Wilson collected a single and Achtermeier reached on a hit by pitch before Henderson singled through the left side, scoring Wilson to stretch the lead, 3-0. The Fighting Scots trimmed the deficit to 3-2 in the fifth as they scored two runs on four hits.
The Vulcans extended thier lead in the top of the sixth when Achtermeier tallied an RBI single before Henderson belted a two-out double down the left field line, scoring Achtermeier and stretching the Cal U lead, 5-2. In the top of the seventh, the Vulcans added an insurance run as
Brooke Wilson collected an RBI single.
Freshman
Caleigh Rister (Bucyrus, Ohio/Bucyrus) earned the complete-game victory to improve to 13-2 this season. She allowed two runs (both earned) on eight hits with four strikeouts and zero walks in 7.0 innings (101 pitches). Edinboro starter Macy Sral suffered the loss after yielding three runs (all earned) on six hits and four walks with two strikeouts in 3.1 innings (77 pitches).
In Game 2, Edinboro scored four unearned runs in the bottom of the first after benefiting from three errors.
Brooke Wilson, Henderson, freshman left fielder
Carlena Fiorilli (Mount Vernon, Ohio/Mount Vernon) and junior
Kira Hillhouse (Erie, Pa./McDowell) all recorded one single.
In the first, the Fighting Scots scored four runs on three hits and three errors. Edinboro retired 14-straight Cal U batters before Hillhouse registered a two-out single in the top of the fifth. Fiorilli recorded a single in the top of the sixth before a pop-out ended the inning.
Senior
Kelsey Barron (La Salle, Mich./St. Mary Catholic Central) was saddled with the loss after yielding four runs (zero earned) on six hits in 7.0 innings (86 pitches), while posting seven strikeouts. Fighting Scot starter Lauren Bush recorded the complete-game victory after scattering four hits with six strikeouts in 7.0 scoreless innings (68 pitches).
Cal U returns to action on Wednesday, May 4, when it opens play in the PSAC Tournament at Veterans Park in Quakertown, Pennsylvania. The field features five teams from each division and will be played as a double-elimination tournament.
