Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – The Gettysburg College softball team came away with a split at non-conference foe Mary Washington in its season opener on Saturday.
 
The Bullets rallied late in the opener, but dropped a 4-3 decision. Gettysburg came back with a 7-2 victory in the nightcap.
 
Freshman Liz Cowell (Verona, N.J./Mount Saint Dominic) turned in a big collegiate debut for the Bullets, finishing 5-for-8 with a pair of RBIs for the day. Sophomore Morgan Clauser (Columbus, N.J./Northern Burlington) earned the victory in the second game, scattering seven hits without allowing an earned run.
 
In the opener, the Bullets trailed after the Eagles (1-1) scored single runs in each of the first two innings. Gettysburg got on the scoreboard in the fourth on two-out singles from senior Sam Misurell (Franklin Park, N.J./Bishop George Ahr) and Cowell sandwiched around a walk from junior Stephanie Leonardo (East Haddom, Conn./Choate Rosemary Hall).
 
Mary Washington pushed its lead to 4-1 in the fourth, scoring twice with two outs on three singles, a walk, and an error.
 
In the seventh, Eagle starter Kara Deppe retired the leadoff batter before junior Mykaela Twitchell (Cumberland, Maine/Greely) sparked a rally with a single. The Bullets were down to their final out two batters later when freshman Sarahrose Jonik (Glenmoore, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) reached on an error. Misurell followed up with an RBI-single to make it 4-2.
 
Leonardo then made it a one-run with a run-scoring single, but Deppe induced a ground-out to end the game.
 
Cowell finished 3-for-4 in the opener while Misurell and freshman Sara Seuffert (Morristown, N.J./Morristown-Beard School) collected two hits apiece. Junior Aileen Reilly (Huntingdon Station, N.Y./Saint Anthony's) went the distance in the circle, allowing just two earned runs while striking out seven over six innings.
 
In the nightcap, the Eagles jumped to a 2-0 lead with a pair of unearned runs in the first. However, Clauser settled in to blank Mary Washington the rest of the way and finished the game with three-up, three-down seventh. She walked two and struck out two.
 
Gettysburg took the lead for good with a four-run second. Freshman Mattea Ghaffary (Moorpark, Calif./Moorpark) led off with a single before scoring on a one-out error. Seuffert then drew a two-out walk before senior Jamie Abell (Glenn Dale, Md./Elizabeth Seton) drilled a two-run triple. Sophomore Meredith Taylor (Hamilton, N.J./Northern Burlington) capped the big inning with an RBI-single, making it 4-2.
 
The Bullets padded their lead with single runs in each of the next three innings, including an RBI-double from Misurell in the third.
 
Taylor and Cowell each roped two hits in the second game while Seuffert and Leonardo both scored a pair of runs.
 
Gettysburg continues its season on Tuesday, when it visits Shenandoah in a non-conference doubleheader starting at 3:30 p.m.