WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – The Albright softball team earned a sweep Saturday of Lycoming to open MAC Commonwealth play. The Lions defeated the Warriors, 4-3, in game one before getting a 1-0 win in extra innings in game two.
Camille Sears had the go-ahead RBI in the final inning of each victory.
In game one, Lycoming opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the first inning on a groundout after a leadoff double and a sacrifice. The score stayed that way until the top of the fourth.
Jessica Rodriguez and
Regina Milburn reached with back-to-back one-out singles, and
Jordan Chell loaded the bases when she got aboard via an error.
That set the table for
Brooke Yerger. With two outs, she belted her second double of the game to left field, and that cleared the bases. Albright had a 3-1 lead. Lycoming came back with single runs in the bottom of the fourth and the fifth innings to tie the score at 3-3.
In the top of the seventh, Yerger led off with a single for her third hit of the day. After two outs, she stole second. Sears chased Yerger home with a double to right to give the Lions a 4-3 lead that it wouldn't surrender in the bottom half.
Stephany Courtney also doubled for the Lions in game one.
In the second game,
Riley Gerenda didn't allow a hit until there were two away in the bottom of the fourth inning. She ended up allowing four hits while going the distance in the 1-0 victory in eight innings, and Lycoming never got a runner past second base.
In the sixth inning,
Jordan Chell was at third base with one out, but she was retired at the plate on a fielder's choice to keep the game scoreless. In the bottom of the sixth, Lycoming got a leadoff double, but the inning ended with a line drive double play back to Gerenda. She threw to second to double off the runner to end the threat.
In the eighth inning, Sears got her second go-ahead RBI of the day when she smacked a solo homer to center to give the Lions a 1-0 lead. That was Sears' lone hit of the game to go with a walk earlier. Lycoming got a one-out single in the bottom of the eighth, but nothing sustained the rally.
Rodriguez led the Lions with two hits in game two. Gerenda struck out four and walked only one batter.
Albright returns to action on Tuesday when it hosts Messiah for a MAC Commonwealth doubleheader at 3 p.m.
