CLERMONT, Fla. - - A late rally falls short in game one and an early lead doesn't hold in game two for the Wilmington University softball team as it fell to Gannon, 5-4, and Mary, 6-4, in a Tuesday doubleheader at the National Training Center on its Spring Break trip.
Jillian Stafford hit a two run single with the bases loaded and two outs to bring the Wildcats to within one run in the bottom of the seventh but the Wildcats (8-6) couldn't scratch across the game tying run before bowing out. In the nightcap, the Wildcats jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first but was then stymied by Mary pitching and outscored 6-1 the rest of the game to fall 6-4.
It is the first time in 2013 the Wildcats lost back-to-back games.
Gannon (5-1) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning and posted two more runs in the top of the sixth to take a 5-1 lead going into the Wildcats' final six outs. Christin Headley hit a one out double to get things going in the sixth and later came home on a Rachel Painter sacrifice fly to make it 5-2 with three outs remaining.
Freshman Rice Fazio started the final inning off with a single to left before Cambria Ziemba followed with a single to right. Three batters and two outs later, Brooke Berger loaded the bases with a single into left field, putting the tying run on base. Stafford, recently named CACC Player of the Week, stepped in and singled into left field, scoring both Fazio and Ziemba, and put the tying run on second. But Gannon's Megan Dragon got Headley swinging for the final out in the game, one run short of tying the game.
Berger, Headley and Ziemba collected two hits each against Gannon while Stafford led the team with the two RBI's. Brook Ash and Painter accounted for the other two runs batted in for the Wildcats.
Katie Warrington threw all seven innings for the Wildcats, striking out eight batters but giving up five runs (three earned). She was saddled with the loss, her first, and falls to 5-1 on the season.
Headley put the Wildcats in front early in Tuesday's second contest, hitting a bases loaded triple to left center to give the Wildcats a 3-0 lead. Shelby Thompson singled to lead off the game while Ash reached on an error and Berger walked to load the bases.
The game remained 3-0 until the bottom of the third inning when Mary put two runs on the board on three hits. Wilmington got one of the runs back in the top of the fourth inning as Berger hit a two-out single to center to score Ziemba who started the rally with a walk.
But back came Mary, as it responded with four runs in the bottom half of the inning, with the big blow coming off the bat of Allison Brown as she hit a grand slam with one out in the inning. Wilmington was unable to get a rally together in their final three at-bats, falling 6-4.
Thompson and Headley collected two hits apiece for the Wildcats while Headley's three RBI's led all. Berger accounted for the final Wildcat RBI against Mary.
Chelsea Botsch went the distance for the Wildcats, allowing six runs on 13 hits. She threw 85 pitches, as compared to Mary's Erin Keen who needed 138 for the win. Saddled with the loss, Botsch falls to 1-3 on the season.
Wilmington will look to get back into the win column on Wednesday as it squares off against a pair of East Region opponents at the National Training Center. The Wildcats will first place Saint Rose at 3 p.m. followed by a game against Southern New Hampshire at 5 p.m.
