PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Juniata College softball team took two from LaRoche College Thursday afternoon to improve to 5-7 overall on the season. Juniata won game one of the doubleheader 6-2 and went on to win game two 6-3. LaRoche dropped to 2-10 with the losses. The Eagles have now won three of their last four games.
Junior Meghan Decker (Waynesboro, Pa./Waynesboro) went a perfect 4-for-4 in the wins with two runs and two RBI. Fellow junior Rachel Smith (Martinsburg, Pa./Home School) also had a big bat on the day. Two of her three hits were doubles and she recorded two runs.
Freshman Aly Smith (McVeytown, Pa./Mount Union) earned her third win of the season. She went five innings, striking out five in game one. Earning the win for game two was junior Kelsea Decker (Waynesboro, Pa./Waynesboro) who came in relief in the fourth. Decker closed out the game, striking out three batters, to help lead the Eagles to the come-from-behind win. She is now 1-2 on the year.
Game One
Juniata won game one in the second inning. Aly Smith walked to lead off and Meghan Decker was hit by a pitch, putting runners at first and second. The next two batters struck out swinging, but senior Paige Robertson (Altoona, Pa./Altoona Area) tripled, scoring both Smith and Decker.
Fellow senior Steph Frith (Pottstown, Pa./Pottsgrove) then singled and Robertson scored the eventual game winner. Frith was then caught stealing to end the inning, but the damage had been done.
The Eagles pulled two more runs across in the top of the fourth. With two outs and the bases loaded, Kelsea Decker came in to pinch hit and crushed a double that scored both runs. The Redhawks got one run on the board in the bottom of the inning but would not score again until they earned one more bottom of the seventh.
Deanna Tritinger received the loss for the Redhawks.
Game Two
LaRoche rebounded from game one and took an early 2-0 lead. The Eagles weren't able to get onto the board until the top of the fourth inning. Rachel Smith led off with a single. After the next batter moved her to second on a sac bunt, sophomore Katie Schroeder (Kempton, Pa./Kutztown) tripled, scoring Smith.
With two outs and a runner on third, freshman Allie Lingenfelter (Portage, Pa./Portage Area) doubled to score Schroeder and tie the game up at 2-all before LaRoche starter Kaylee Girdwood pitched out of the inning.
Kelsea Decker came in to relieve Assad in the bottom of the fourth. She struck out one and forced two to ground outs to end the inning.
Frith then led off the fifth with a triple and scored when the next batter grounded out to give Juniata the 3-2 lead. Kelsea Decker singled and Rachel Smith followed her with a double. Ashley DeVito took over on the mound for Girwood and immediately gave up an RBI single to Meghan Decker. Meghan attempted to steal with runners on the corner, but was caught at second. Smith scored on the throw, giving the Eagles the 5-2 lead.
Both teams put up single runs in the seventh as Juniata cruised to its fifth win of the year. Girwood received the loss for LaRoche.
Juniata returns home this weekend. The Eagles finally get a chance to play on their own field this Saturday, April 6 when the open at home against Scranton. They then take on Catholic on Sunday, April 7. Both matchups are doubleheaders that begin at 1 p.m. Scranton sits atop the conference with a 2-0 record. They are 4-5 overall. Catholic is 10-8 overall, but 0-2 in the conference after dropping two games at Susquehanna.
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