CRESSON, Pa. – Juniata College sophomore Rachel Smith (Martinsburg, Pa.) set a new school record for doubles in a single season, amidst a pair of Eagle softball losses to Mount Aloysius College on Monday at Ward Field. The Mounties won game one 9-4, and completed the sweep with an 8-6 victory in game two.
Smith hit her record-setting double in the sixth inning of game two, part of Juniata's five-run uprising that erased most of a 7-0 deficit heading into the frame. Steph Frith (Pottstown, Pa./Pottsgrove) and Paige Robertson (Altoona, Pa./Altoona Area) led off the inning with singles, and Smith plated Frith with her 16th double of the season.
Smith eclipsed the previous record of 15, set by Brandy Preslovich in 2002.
Meghan Decker (Waynesboro, Pa./Waynesboro Area) backed up Smith's hit with a two-run double of her own, and Ali Vogatsky (Johnstown, Pa./Central Cambria) moved runners around with a single. Katie Schroeder (Kempton, Pa./Kutztown) grounded out to third allowing Decker to score, while Vogatsky eventually crossed on an error by the Mount Aloysius catcher after stealing third.
Mount Aloysius got one run back in the bottom of the sixth when Mariah McDowell got aboard with a leadoff triple and scored on Marissa Ayers' grounder to short. The Eagles got the run back in the top of the seventh with Decker's sacrifice fly to left field scoring Frith, but the inning ended with the tying run on first base.
The Mounties plated one run in the first on an RBI triple by Jalisa Westover, and tacked on five runs in the bottom of the third. Bethany Cocola keyed the inning with a two-run singles, while Meagan Thomas and Megan Brown each plated runs.
Smith started in the circle for Juniata, allowing eight runs, six earned, on 11 hits with three walks in the loss. Mount Aloysius starter Brown yielded 12 hits and six runs, but did not issue any walks and fanned five Eagles.
In game one, Mount Aloysius broke open a 3-3 ballgame in the bottom of the sixth with six runs, including a two-run home run by Lindsay Beyer. Elle Hart doubled home a third run, while a McDowell triple scored one more.
Juniata added a single run in the sixth, cutting the score to 9-4, on an RBI single by Jen Ashcraft (Bellefonte, Pa./State College Area).
The Eagles' two runs in the fifth inning both crossed as a result of Mountie errors – one at third, and another by the centerfielder.
Kelsea Decker (Waynesboro, Pa./Waynesboro Area) got the start in game one, and allowed nine runs on 11 hits and six walks, but also recorded seven strikeouts. Mount Aloysius' Kelsey Ickes scattered seven hits in the win, and struck out 11 Juniata batters.
Juniata concludes its Landmark Conference slate this Saturday, April 21, when it faces Moravian College at 1:00 p.m. in Bethlehem, Pa.
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