Alvernia Softball Forces Decisive Game at ECAC's
Alvernia forced a decisive seventh game with a thrilling 6-5 win over McDaniel at the ECAC South Softball Championships, Sunday afternoon at Misericordia University’s Anderson Field.
After scoring three runs in the top of the sixth, the Crusaders scored the game-winning run with two outs in the top of the seventh.
Aly Shilling and Katie Manowski both had two hits for the Crusaders while Samantha Penk drove in two runs.
Brianna Fisher scattered nine hits over six innings to improve to 9-1 while Brittanie Wolfe worked a scoreless seventh to earn her second save. Alvernia centerfielder Felicia McKenna robbed McDaniel’s Emily Sneeringer of a game-tying home run for the first out of the seventh inning.
Rachel Sidney and Caitlin Justice both had two hits to lead McDaniel.
Caroline Brehm absorbed the loss for McDaniel. She struck out 10 and allowed nine hits to fall to 26-11.
McDaniel took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first on an RBI-single by Rachel Sidney and a run-scoring double by Lauren Stricker.
Alvernia cut the deficit in half on McKenna’s single to right in the third and tied it on Penk’s double down the left field line in the fourth.
The Green Terror went back in front on Sidney’s single up the middle in the fourth and made it 4-2 on Sneeringer’s sacrifice fly in the fifth.
The Crusaders went ahead in the sixth on a squeeze bunt by Penk and an RBI-single by Shannon Grim that was misplayed in the outfield to make it 5-4.
McDaniel tied it, 5-5, in the bottom of the sixth when Stephanie Maring was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
Alvernia scored the winning run in the seventh when Brianna Kuhn drew a lead-off walk and Manowski beat out a bunt single. The McDaniel shortstop made a diving stop on Shilling’s hard single, but Kuhn came around with the eventual winning run.
The two teams will meet again in a decisive game 7.
