MEADVILLE, Pa.—Led by some late game heroics from senior
Jessica Zavolta, the Allegheny College softball team won a pair of close battles against Ohio Wesleyan University Sunday (April 22) in North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) play.
Zavolta's two-run walk-off single gave Allegheny an 8-7 win in the opener, before the veteran broke a 6-6 tie in game two with a two-out RBI double in the bottom of the sixth to seal a 7-6 victory. It marked Allegheny's third straight doubleheader sweep, and improves the Gator record to 15-11 overall and 8-4 in NCAC play.
Game One – Allegheny 8, Ohio Wesleyan 7
The Battling Bishops led off the game with a triple and a walk, but pitcher
Kala Mahen threw three straight groundball outs to get out of the inning unscathed.
With one out in the bottom of the first,
Jessica Gordon singled to left field, before
Hayley Behr followed up by reaching first via error. With runners on first and second and a 2-2 count, Zavolta blasted a shot over the center field fence to put the Gators ahead 3-0.
In the bottom of the second,
Rachel Ramsey reached base via error, and stole second, before an RBI single to right from
Maria DiDonato then brought her home with a hit to right field, made it 4-0.
Mahen kept the Battling Bishops off the board through three innings, but the visitors would score three times in the fourth to make it a one-run game.
The Gators threatened again in the fifth, with
Kelly Lafferty singling and Gordon reaching on an error, but both runners would wind up stranded.
The Battling Bishops led off the seventh with a triple to left field, and scored on the next at-bat to tie the game at four. OWU would then quickly up the lead to 7-4 on a two-run double.
Allegheny would then begin the eventual game-winning rally in the bottom of the frame with back-to-back singles from Ramsey and DiDonato. With one out, Gordon singled home DiDonato, before
Hayley Behr laced a double to the gap in right center to plate Lafferty and move Gordon to third. With the runners in scoring position, Zavolta came through in the clutch with a base hit to right field, scoring both baserunners to give the Gators the 8-7, walk-off win.
Zavolta went three-for-four with five RBI to lead the Gators, while Gordon and DiDonato each had two hits.
Victoria Vradenburg relieved Mahen in the seventh and picked up the win in relief, her fifth win of the season.
Game Two – Allegheny 7, Ohio Wesleyan 6
Ohio Wesleyan loaded the bases with no outs in the first, but Vradenburg minimized the damage by allowing just one run. The Gators put two aboard in the bottom of the frame with a Lafferty single and Zavolta walk, but were unable to capitalize on the opportunity. The Battling Bishops had another big inning in the second, scoring three to extend the lead to 4-0.
The Gators answered the lengthy top of the fourth with one of their own in the bottom half.
Jessica Valerino led off with a single, and moved to second on a sacrifical bunt from
Samantha Valera. Valerino then beat a throw on a fielder's choice to get to third, before scoring on a DiDonato single to center to make it 4-1. Lafferty followed with a double down the left field line, which scored Ramsey from second and moved DiDonato to third, before Behr then singled to left field to score DiDonato and cut the OWU lead to 4-3.
After the Battling Bishops used a single and an error to plate a pair of runs in the top of the fourth, the Gator bats went back to work in the bottom half. Lafferty laced a one-out double and Gordon beat ouf an infield single, before Behr doubled to center to plate Lafferty with the tying run. Zavolta followed up with an infield single, scoring Gordon to cut the lead to 6-5, before
Kyleigh Cason grounded out to second base, allowing Behr to score and tie the game at six.
The Battling Bishops threatened to pull ahead once again in the fifth, putting runners at second and third with two outs, but a strong defensive effort from Cason at third base would cut down the go-ahead run at the plate to end the inning.
As she did throughout the afternoon, Lafferty got another rally started in the bottom of the sixth with a leadoff single. With two outs, Zavolta would then come up with her second game-winning hit with an opposite field double to right field to plate Lafferty and give the Gators a 7-6 lead.
Vradenburg would preserve the one-run lead in the top of the seventh, as she needed just eight pitches to retire the side, capped off with a game-ending strikeout to cap off the complete game and earn her second win of the doubleheader.
Lafferty went four-for-four with two runs and a RBI. Behr and Zavolta and two hits and two RBI apiece while Valerino also had a pair of hits. Valera had two sac bunts in the game, giving her 15 on the season, the most for the Gators in a single season since 2000.
Allegheny is back in action Tuesday (April 24) as they travel to Kenyon College for a pivotal NCAC doubleheader that is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m.
