HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The Juniata College softball team lost its first Landmark Conference series of the year Saturday afternoon after falling 13-0 and 4-2 to Moravian College on the team's senior day. Juniata dropped to 10-14 overall, 4-6 in the Landmark with the loss. Moravian, who is ranked eighth in the east region, improved to 29-9 overall, 6-2 in Landmark play.
Senior Jennifer Ashcraft (Bellefonte, Pa./State College Area) led the Eagles at the plate. She went 2-for-3 with a double in game two.
Game One
Moravian's bats were finding every gap in the Eagles defense during game one and starter Alyssa Fegely kept hitters guessing. Juniata loaded the bases in the first inning, but could not find a way to get a run across.
Four different Eagles earned hits. Junior Kelsea Decker (Waynesboro, Pa./Waynesboro) received the loss after pitching 3.2 innings and striking out two.
Game Two
The Greyhounds jumped out to a 4-0 lead before Juniata responded in the fourth inning. With one out on the board, freshman Aly Smith (McVeytown, Pa./Mount Union) reached on an error by the second baseman and freshman Brooke Walls (Mifflinburg, Pa./Mifflinburg) came in to pinch run.
Decker then singled through the left side, advancing Walls to second. With two outs and two on, Ashcraft singled up the middle, scoring Walls and ending the shutout. The Juniata defense stepped up down the stretch, holding Moravian scoreless for the remainder of the contest.
Juniata tried to rally in the bottom of the seventh inning. Ashcraft led off with a double to right center. Freshman Lauren Lesser (Mt. Laurel, N.J./Holy Cross) came in to pinch run and moved to third when the next batter grounded out. Senior Steph Frith (Pottstown, Pa./Pottstown) then singled with two outs to score Lesser.
But Greyhound starter Lindsay Sullivan got the next batter to ground out to end the game and earn the win. Smith received the loss for game two after pitching her sixth complete game, striking out four and giving up only four hits to a Greyhound offense that smacked 14 balls in play in game one.
Senior Day
Juniata honored its three seniors between games one and two. The first was Paige Robertson (Altoona, Pa./Altoona Area). The outfielder has only played two seasons but has appeared in over 50 games in her career. She hit a career-best .357 in her first season on the diamond.
Frith is a four-year starter for the Eagles that has been playing at shortstop this season. She has earned starts in all but four of her 117 career games. She is currently 11th all-time on the program's career hits list. This season, Frith leads the team in batting average, hits and runs.
Ashcraft has been an integral member of the Eagles program for four years. She has appeared in 62 games over the course of her career and tallied 125 at-bats. In 2012, she recorded a career-best 13 putouts with a perfect fielding percentage. Ashcraft is a perfect 2-for-2 in stolen bases this season.
The doubleheader wrapped up regular season conference play for the Eagles who now wait for the remaining games to finish in order to determine if they made the postseason. Juniata has two non-conference doubleheaders left on its schedule. The Eagles host Penn State Altoona on Tuesday, April 23 for a rescheduled game, before heading to Elizabethtown on Thursday, April 25.
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