Game 1 Box Score

Game 2 Box Score

READING, Pa. – Led by sophomore Nikki Schwenk's 6-for-8 afternoon, softball (9-21/3-9 CC) earned a Commonwealth Conference split with cross-town rival Alvernia University (17-7/3-5 CC) Thursday afternoon at the Albright Softball Field. In game one the red and white earned a 6-5 win, while in the nightcap it was Alvernia who earned a 11-8 conference decision.

On top of her 6-for-8 performance at the plate, Schwenk also tallied four RBI and one run scored. Equally impressive for the Lady Lions was Brandy Lagomarsino who went 4-for-9 with a double, a triple, an RBI, and two runs scored.

In the circle, Jaime Weckesser recorded both a win and loss Thursday afternoon. The junior went all seven innings in game one, and retired two batters while walking four others. Her second appearance of the day would last only two innings, as Alvernia put-up six runs on six hits. Alex Tragno closed out the final five innings and surrendered five runs on nine hits, while also striking out three Crusaders.

Combined both teams' recorded 23 hits each in the back and forth conference battle. Game one saw Alvernia take an early one-run lead after the first inning (2-1). In the top half of the second the Crusaders put up three more runs to extend their lead to 5-1. However, the red and white responded right back with four-runs of-their-own in the bottom half of that frame. 

They then got their game-winning run in the form of a Becky Crandall one-run blast. Looking as if though it was going to be a slugfest for the remainder of the opener, both teams would actually never make their way around the base paths for the final 3 ½ innings.

The nightcap was just as busy, with Crusaders jumping out to a 6-1 lead through the first two innings. Albright did manage to close that five-run gap in the third as Melanie Chapman crushed her first career home run over the left field fence to make it 6-2. A Lagomarsino triple and an RBI single by Schwenk would cut the Crusaders lead to three.

Albright would come even closer to retaking the lead in the fifth, when they got a two-run homer from freshman Jackie Bohanan. Unfortunately, Alvernia would respond with two runs of their own in the top of the sixth and three more in the top of the seventh. The Lady Lions would only scored three more runs before Alvernia was able to retire the side in the ninth and get the win.

Softball returns to the diamond on Monday when they travel to Dickinson College for a 5 p.m. non-conference doubleheader under the lights.