READING, Pa. – The Albright softball team took their home field for one final doubleheader of the 2022 season against Delaware Valley with a non-conference split series on Thursday.
The Lions move to 4-28 overall with the split while the Aggies move to 11-25 overall.
GAME ONE
Delaware Valley dominated in the opening game of the series with a 21-1 win over Albright. The Aggies opened up their scoring with three runs in the first and added two in the second to jump out to a 5-0 lead. The Lions got on the board in the bottom of the third with one run as
Veronica Heckman singled to right center to bring home
Brooke Franklin and get Albright within four. Unfortunately for the Lions, this would be there only run of game one as the Aggies went on to score 16 unanswered runs throughout the next two innings, including a big 10-run inning in the fifth to solidify their win.
Kathryn Baptiste (0-2) receives the loss behind 0.1 innings pitched.
GAME TWO
Albright bounced back in game two as they claimed a 7-2 victory over Delaware Valley. It was a battle of defenses in the opening frames as neither team was able to put any runs together. Albright finally broke through in the bottom half of the third as
Kiera Reilly singled up the middle to get on base and advanced to second on a ground out.
Allison Melahn smashed a double to left center to bring Reilly home and give the Lions their first lead of the series. Baptiste then singled to right center to bring Melahn home as Albright took a 2-0 lead. The Lions continued their momentum in the bottom of the fourth as
Kaitlyn Chell and Heckman singled and
Jenna Shallop walked to load the bases.
Laura Costello then sent Chell and Heckman home on a single, extending the Lions lead to four. Albright capped off the fourth with three more scores to give them a commanding 7-0 advantage. Delaware Valley finally got on the board in the fifth with one run on two hits and scored one final run in the seventh on three hits. However, the Aggies were unable to overcome their deficit as Albright claimed the 7-2 game two win.
Melahn threw a career-high ten strikeouts in 7.0 innings pitched to earn the win for the Lions. Baptiste, Heckman, and Melahn all went 2-for-4 at the plate to fuel the Lions offense.
Albright will conclude the 2022 season on Saturday at 1 p.m. as they travel to Stevenson for a final MAC Commonwealth doubleheader.
