The Rock softball team swept Clarion University in their doubleheader Wednesday as they extended their winning streak to five games while scoring 23 runs between the two games when the team traveled east on Wednesday to face the struggling 5-35 Golden Eagle team.
“It feels really good because winning is always fun,” SRU softball head coach Stacey Rice said. “Our pitching, timely hitting, and I think we are finally starting to mesh as a team.”
The Green and White won the first game 15-7 and won the second game 8-3. Senior pitcher Carley DeRose started the first game for The Rock, but didn’t stay long, going three innings while surrendering five runs on five hits, striking out four batters. Sophomore pitcher Andria Copelli stepped in for Derose in the beginning of the fourth and finished the game off, giving up two runs on four hits and striking out two batters.
In the first game, junior center-fielder Emily Nagle led the team offensively posting four hits out of five at bat, with three RBIs. Senior third baseman Caitlin Baxter also posted high numbers going three for five with three RBIs as well.
A lot of hits and a hand full of wild pitches by Clarion allowed The Rock to score six runs in just the first inning. The Green and white kept their foot on the gas throughout the game, scoring in every inning except for innings two and four, allowing SRU to win 15-7, with Derose getting the win improving her record to 5-7.
“People are starting to wake up their bats who are otherwise a little quite,” Rice said. “Baxter was gone for a little bit, struggling offensively, but we found her yesterday.”
Junior pitcher Brooke Dawson took the mound in the second game, giving up three earned runs on six hits while retiring five batters through five innings. In the sixth inning junior pitcher, Paige Flore took over for Dawson, surrendering no earned runs on one hit, through two innings of play.
Nagle continued her ways getting four more hits out of five at bat, while junior catcher Lauren Hawley helped out going two for three with four RBIs and three of those came off a first-inning home run.
The Rock then added to that lead in the second inning with three more runs coming off a RBI single from sophomore second baseman Megan Brown and a two-run RBI double from Baxter, to take the lead 6-1.
Things remained quiet until the fourth inning when Clarion scored a run, but The Rock answered back in the sixth with two RBIs from Hawley and sophomore shortstop Kailey Myers. Clarion would only answer with one run later in the sixth, giving SRU the win 8-3, with Dawson getting the win to improve her season record to 10-6.
“The playoffs are within reach,” Rice said. “So I think we’re just trying to play together as a team and win when we can because streaking at the right time is very important.”
The Green and White still currently sit at fourth place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West but sit with an improved record of 15-18.
