GETTYSBURG, Pa. – The Gettysburg College softball team dropped a pair of non-conference losses against Lebanon Valley College on Thursday at Bobby Jones Field in its home debut.
Lebanon Valley tallied two runs in the third and one in the seventh to take game one by a 3-0 decision. A fast start by the Bullets in game two was not enough as the Flying Dutchmen came back to sweep the day with a 9-6 victory in the nightcap.
Despite the loss in game one, senior
Morgan Clauser (Columbus, N.J./Northern Burlington) was outstanding from the circle as she struck out nine batters in seven innings.
Clauser opened the game by striking out five of the first eight batters with just one hit heading into the top of the third. She continued with the strikes as she fanned Kylie Balthaser to start the third, but a double by Savanah Toth and single by Sarah Musselman put Lebanon Valley in scoring position. Musselman was caught stealing to second base, but teammate Rylee Shockley then blasted a two-run homer to pull ahead 2-0.
The Bullets were unable to get into an offensive groove while the Flying Dutchmen added another run in the top of the seventh to grab game one.
Junior
Taylor Doi (Foster City, Calif./San Mateo) finished with two hits while seniors
Meredith Taylor (Hamilton, N.J./Northern Burlington) and
Sophia Blasius (Ramsey, N.J./Ramsey) each notched one.
The Bullets (10-8) bolted in the bottom of the first inning as they posted three runs to start game two. Junior
Rachel Julie (Elmsford, N.Y./Briarcliff) leadoff the inning with a monstrous triple to right center. Taylor then notched the RBI single down the right field line to drive Julie home. A single up the middle by sophomore
Shelby Baker (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington North) pushed Taylor to second. Sophomore pinch runner
Jessica Ken-Kwofie (Westfield, N.J./Kent Place School) scored the second run for the Bullets while junior
Liz Cowell (Verona, N.J./Mount Saint Dominic) posted the third off an RBI single up the middle.
LVC (11-9) tacked on a run in the second and two in the third and fourth to hold the 5-3 advantage heading into the bottom of the fourth inning.
The two-run lead did not last long as Julie smashed a two-RBI double to left center in the bottom of the fourth frame to bring Blasius and Cowell in to tie the game up at 5-5.
An RBI single and a sacrifice fly by Lebanon Valley in the sixth inning followed by a two-run dinger in the top of the seventh pushed them back ahead 9-5.
Doi got Gettysburg rolling in the final inning as she singled up the middle to start the frame. Taylor then reached base on a defensive error, pushing Doi to second. A RBI single to center field by Baker allowed Doi to collect the sixth run. Baker advanced to second on the wild pitch, but the game was called after that due to darkness.
Julie finished with two hits, a double and triple, two RBI, and run scored. Baker and Cowell also concluded the game with two hits and an RBI each.
The Bullets open Centennial Conference action at Muhlenberg College on Saturday at 1 p.m.
