CLERMONT, Fla. - - The Wilmington University softball team dropped a doubleheader on day 11 at the National Training Center on Monday, falling 13-6 to No. 24 Grand Valley State and 9-0 to Saint Joseph's College in Clermont, Fla.
The Wildcats fell to 4-13 overall in their 23-game nonconference Spring Break trip to Florida, facing the third ranked team on Monday during the two week trip.
Wilmington built a 4-0 lead right out of the gates in game one against No. 24 Grand Valley State, but couldn't hold onto the early lead in the first game of the day.
With two one out and the bases empty, Jessica Hassman doubled to start the first inning rally. Brooke Berger and Christin Headley followed with back-to-back singles to load the bases. Kinsley Parker knocked in the game's first run of the day with a single into left field, scoring Hassman from third. Rachel Painter followed suite with a two run single down the left field line, scoring Berger and Headley while moving to second on the throw. Kristin Garvin rounded out the first inning scoring with a sacrifice fly, bringing in Parker to make it 4-0.
But the Michigan team didn't stay down for long, as they responded with five runs of their own in the bottom half of the first. The Lakers loaded the bases with no outs, and scored the first run on a n RBI groundout to second base. Grand Valley State tacked on two more runs with a single up the middle before a two-out error allowed two more runs to score to make it 5-4 after one complete inning.
The Lakers tacked on at least one run in each of the next four runs, smacking 15 hits through the course of the game. The Wildcats combined for nine hits in game one, and scored single runs in the third and fifth innings to stay within striking distance.
Berger, Headley, Parker, and Painter all collected two hits for the Wildcats, while Hassman accounted for the team's ninth and final hit. Painter finished with three RBI's to lead the 'Cats, while Parker added two. Hassman and Berger each scored two runs in the late morning contest.
The second game was the opposite, as the teams were held in check in the early going. Saint Joseph's then erupted to score at least one run in each of the final four innings before finishing the game with two runs in the top of the sixth.
The winning runs for the Pumas all came in the third innings, as the nine hole hitter lead off the inning with a single into right field. After advancing to second on a sacrifice, Saint Joseph's put runners on first and third on a fielding error, still with one out. Brittnie Boerema then tripled in both runs to take a 2-0 lead, a lead they would not surrender.
The Wildcats were out-hit 8-2 by the Pumas, as the Wildcats hits came in the second and the fifth, but both runners were left stranded. Headley and Kristin Garvin each went 1-for-2 for the Wildcats in game two.
Katie Warrington was saddled with the loss in game two, pitching 3.2 innings before taking a one hopper back to the mound off the face, forcing her out of the game. She gave up six runs (two earned) on five hits before handing the ball over to Danielle Griffin to finish the game. Each Wildcat pitcher picked up three strikeouts in the loss.
Wilmington will take its final day off of the two-week trip on Wednesday, but will return to action on Thursday with a doubleheader against Southern New Hampshire and Wayne State College at the National Training Center.
