BETHLEHEM, PA- The Eagles softball team traveled to Bethlehem on Saturday to face the top team in the Landmark Conference, Moravian. A big 11-run fourth inning for the Greyhounds lifted them to a win in Game 1 and a pair of runs in the fifth and sixth game them a 7-4 victory in Game 2.
Moravian is now 22-4 overall and 9-1 in the Landmark. Juniata falls to 7-21 overall and 2-8 in the conference.
Katie Schroeder (Kempton, PA/Kutztown) provided all the runs for the Eagles with a three-run homerun in the top of the second inning in the first game. She finished 1-for-2 at the plate with a run scored and three RBIs. Holly Bettinger (Hummelstown, PA/Lower Dauphin) was 1-for-2 with a run scored and Lindsey Kosicki (Patton, PA/Cambria Heights) was 1-for-1 with a run and a walk.
Juniata jumped on the Greyhounds early in the second game. With the bases loaded and one out, Schroeder reached on a fielder's choice to bring in Alicia Regnault (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgwater Raritan). Kosicki then laced a single down the right field line to score Paige Dennison (East Berlin, PA/Bermudian Springs). Brooke Walls' (Mifflinburg, PA/Mifflinburg) groundout scored Bettinger and with that run, JC led 3-0.
Moravian countered with two runs in the bottom half of the inning. The Eagles got a run back when Brooke Ridenour (Thurmont, MD/Catoctin) scored following a Regnault single. The Greyhounds scored in their portion to make it a 4-3 contest.
The Greyhounds took the lead with their two-run fifth and added to it with a two-run sixth. Schroeder singled to get on base with two outs in the seventh. The game ended, however, as Kosicki popped out to third base for the final out.
Bettinger pitched six innings. She surrendered 13 hits, seven runs, (six earned), walked five, and struck out one batter.
Regnault was 2-for-4 with a run scored. Kosicki ended up 2-for-3 with a double and a RBI. Dennison batted 1-for-4 with a run scored and a stolen base. Ridenour hit 1-for-3 with a run scored.
Juniata will next play Penn State-Harrisburg in a non-conference doubleheader on Tuesday. Game 1 starts at 3 p.m. with Game 2 beginning around 5 p.m.
