READING, Pa. - Albright junior
Sammi O'Connor struck out nine Lycoming batters en route to a 3-1 victory in the opener as the two Commonwealth Conference teams split a doubleheader Monday afternoon at the Albright Softball Field.
The Lions are 10-7 overall with a 4-6 mark in the Commonwealth, while Lycoming is 10-8 overall with a 3-5 conference record after the Warriors took the nightcap 5-0 behind a two-hit shutout from Rachael Shady.
Albright took a 2-0 lead in the opener in the bottom of the second inning.
O'Connor reached on an error to start the second, and
Armida Roman smashed a double to left field to put runners on second and third. The Lions then loaded the bases when
Sera Stull drew a walk.
Morgan Cullen drove home O'Connor with a single to right giving the Lions a 1-0 lead. Following a double play,
Zoe Robertson added to the lead with a two-out single up the middle to bring home Stull.
The Lions struck again with two outs in the fourth. Robertson was hit by a pitch to start the rally and
Regina Milburn followed with a double to center to bring her home and extend the Albright lead to 3-0.
Roman went 2-for-3 in the opener and
Kaela Romano picked up a hit in both games.
O'Connor dominated the Warriors, allowing just two singles to the Lycoming catcher Kelcie Crabb through the first five innings.
Lycoming cut the deficit to 3-1 in the sixth, but the junior worked out of a bases-loaded jam by inducing a pop up to first to preserve the Albright advantage.
O'Connor then set the Warriors down in order in the seventh with two of her nine strikeouts.
O'Connor pitched 7.0 innings giving up one run on four hits to improve to 5-4 on the season. Kristi Weaver allowed one earned run on six hits in 6.0 innings of work and fell to 4-4 on the year.
Weaver sent a double down the left field line to score Heather Second giving Lycoming an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning of game two.
The game stayed that way until the top of the fourth when Lycoming's Nikki Marianelli doubled to left with two on and two outs, to bring home both runners and give the Warriors a 3-0 lead.
Weaver, who finished the doubleheader a combined 3-for-7, singled in a run in the fifth to make it a 4-0 game and later scored on a Crabb single that made it 5-0 for the visitors.
Romano and O'Connor collected the hits for Albright in the nightcap.
Riley Gerenda, who allowed two earned runs on seven hits in 7.0 innings of work, saw her record fall to 5-3. Shady went the distance for the shutout surrendering two hits in 7.0 innings to improve to 1-2 on the season.
Albright returns to action on Thursday (April 9) when it concludes its homestand with a non-conference doubleheader with Delaware Valley at 3 p.m.
