HUNTINGDON, PA- The Juniata softball team hosted its first doubleheader of the season on Wednesday afternoon at West End Field. The results did not go the Eagles' way as they fell 13-5 and 13-7 to Eastern Mennonite.
Holly Bettinger (Hummelstown, PA/Lower Dauphin) hit her first and the team's first homerun of the season with a solo shot in the bottom of the second inning. She finished the game 1-for-3 with a run scored and a RBI.
The Royals' Angelia Miller hit a homerun in the top of the second inning off of Eagle pitcher Chrisi Lerchen (Annville, PA/Annville-Cleona) to give Eastern Mennonite a 1-0 lead. Bettinger's blast in the bottom of the inning tied it up at 1-1.
Miller hit a grand slam in the third inning to give EMU a 5-1 lead. Juniata would answer back in its portion of the inning. Kerrigan Ammerman (Alexandria, PA/Juniata Valley) led off with a walk. Brooke Ridenour (Thurmont, MD/Catoctin) followed with a bunt single. Brooke Walls' (Mifflinburg, PA/Mifflinburg) bunt single scored Ammerman. Paige Dennison (East Berlin, PA/Bermudian Springs) doubled to center field to bring in two runs as JC got to within two runs of tying the contest up, 5-4.
The Royals did their damage with an eight-run fifth inning to leap ahead 13-4. The Eagles got one run back, but with the mercy rule in effect, EMU won 13-5.
Dennison went 1-for-3 with a double and three RBIs. Katie Schroeder (Kempton, PA/Kutztown) batted 1-for-2 with a double.
In game 2, Eastern Mennonite plated five runs in the first inning to go up 5-0. Juniata was able to answer right away. Ridenour got on base with a bunt and stole second. Lerchen laced a double to left center to bring Ridenour home. After Denison struck out, Lindsey Kosicki (Patton, PA/Cambria Heights) walked and Schroeder's single loaded the bases. Bettinger's single allowed Lerchen to score on an error by the Royals' catcher. Ammerman's single scored Kosicki and Walls' sacrifice fly brought in Schroeder and the score stood at 5-4.
EMU held a 9-4 advantage in the third inning. The Eagles got one run back on another Walls sacrifice fly that scored Schroeder. Homeruns by Dennison and Schroeder in the fourth narrowed the Juniata deficit to 9-6.
The Royals scored once in the fifth and three times in the seventh inning. JC threatened in the sixth inning with runners on first and second but Natalya Sizdahkhani (Gaithersburg, MD/Quince Orchard) grounded out to end the frame.
Schroeder led the team in hits with three and scored three times. Denison was 2-for-5 with her homerun, one run scored, and one RBI. Lerchen went 1-for-2 with a double and a RBI.
The Eagles begin Landmark Conference play this Saturday with a pair of games at Susquehanna. Game 1 will start at 1 p.m. with the second contest beginning around 3 p.m.
