MEADVILLE, Pa.— The Allegheny College softball team picked up their third North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) sweep of the year as they bested the College of Wooster in a pair of games Wednesday (April 18).

Behind a complete game gem from Kala Mahen in the circle, the Gators picked up a 2-1, 10-inning win in the opener, before claiming a 5-3 victory in an abbreviated nightcap.  With the sweep, Allegheny improves to 12-11 overall and 6-4 in the NCAC. 


Game One – Allegheny 2, Wooster 1 (10 innings)

After Mahen quickly set down the Fighting Scots to open up game one, the Gator offense threatened in the bottom half, as Hayley Behr hit a two-out single and Jessica Zavolta was hit by a pitch, but the Fighting Scots got out of the inning unscathed. 

Wooster would take a 1-0 lead in the top of the third in the briskly-paced game on a two-out, RBI double from Emmallee Cooke. 

Trailing 1-0, the Gators quickly countered in the bottom of the third.  Behr reached on a fielder's choice, before a grounder from Jessica Zavolta was thrown away, allowing Behr to scamper home all the way from first with the tying run. 

The game would then turn into a pitcher's duel between Mahen and Wooster's Maddy Chase, as the two hurlers combined to allow just three base runners between the fourth and seventh innings.  In the sixth, the Gators' Kelly Lafferty earned a tough two-out walk, but would remain stranded.  In the top of the seventh, Wooster managed a runner in scoring position, but Mahen ended the threat with a strikeout. .Allegheny's offense was unable to put together a rally in the bottom of the seventh, and the game went into extra innings.   

The pitcher's duel continued in extras, as neither team managed a baserunner over the eighth and ninth. 

After the two innings of scoreless play, Wooster started the 10th with a runner on second via the international tiebreaker.  The runner moved to third with two outs, but once again Mahen got the Gators out of the inning with another strikeout.

In the bottom of the tenth, Emily Cramer started on second base, and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt from Maria DiDonato.  Lafferty would follow with a sacrifice fly to the warning track in center field, easily scoring Cramer with the winning run. 

In her 10-inning complete game effort, Mahen allowed just four hits and two walks, while striking out three.  She threw just 108 pitches over the 10 innings. 

Chase was just as strong, as she allowed just four hits, one apiece from Lafferty, Jessica Gordon, Behr, and Kyleigh Cason. 


Game Two – Allegheny 5, Wooster 3 (6 innings)

As was the case in the opener, the Fighting Scots would score the game's first runs in the nightcap on a first inning two-run home run from Marina Roski.

The Gators answered right back with a run in the bottom of the frame, as Jessica Valerino laced an RBI single to left to plate Gordon, who reached on a one-out error.

In the second, Rachel Ramsey led off with a walk, but was called out on a Lafferty fielder's choice.  Gordon followed up with a single to left field to move Lafferty to second, before a Behr single to center plated Lafferty to tie the game at 2-2.  Zavolta would promptly single home Gordon to give the Gators a 3-2 lead.

Allegheny added on in the bottom of the third, which began with a leadoff double by Cason. Samantha Valera earned a walk, Ramsey singled to right field to load the bases.   DiDonato hit into a fielder's choice with the bases loaded, but all the Gator runners beat the throw, with Cason crossing the plate to increase their lead to 4-2

The Gators scored their final run in the top of the fourth when Behr led off by reaching on a two-base error, moved to third on a ground out, and scored on a Cason RBI ground out to make it 5-2. 

In the top of the fifth, Wooster cut into the lead with an RBI single from Roski, and the Fighting Scots would again threaten in the top of the sixth. With daylight dwindling, a double and an error put Fighting Scot runners at first and third, but Gator pitcher Victoria Vrandenburg induced a tailor-made 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.  The game was then called due to darkness, giving the Gators the sweep. 

Vradenburg earned the win in relief, going 5 2/3 innings and allowing one run on just five hits, while striking out five.  Offensively, six different Gators recorded hits, while the five Allegheny runs were driven in by five different players.  Gordon across the plate twice.

 The Gators are back in action Saturday (April 21) as they host Alfred State University in nonconference play.