MEADVILLE, Pa.—The Allegheny College softball team split a pair of home games against Hiram College in North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) play Tuesday (April 9).
Hiram took game one 3-2, but the Gators bounced back for a 10-4 win in the second game.
Game One – Hiram 3, Allegheny 2
The Terriers got on the board in the top of the second with a sacrifice fly and then added two more runs in the top of the third to take a 3-0 lead. Allegheny got within a run in the bottom of the sixth as they took advantage of a two-out Hiram error. However, the Gators left a runner on base in the bottom of the seventh as the Terriers picked up the win.
Five total Gators tallied a hit in the game.
Kyleigh Cason (Virginia Beach, Va./Floyd E Kellam),
Hayley Behr (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills),
Paige Ziggas (Beaver, Pa./Beaver Area),
Emily Cramer (Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg) and
Joplin Osgood (Coudersport, Pa./Coudersport) had the hits. Cason and
Kaylin Tang (Vienna, Va./South Lakes) came across the plate for runs.
Tori Vradenburg (Pasadena, Calif./San Marino) struck out a career-high eight batters in the start.
Game Two – Allegheny 10, Hiram 4
The Gators got on the board in the top of the first when Behr hit a RBI single up the middle, scoring
Kelly Lafferty (Suffolk, Va./Nansemond River). However, the Terriers made up the run in the top of the second.
The Gators regained the lead in the fourth. Osgood had a RBI single to right field, scoring Ziggas. Lafferty singled up the middle, bringing Osgood and
Jessica Valerino (Liverpool, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy) home to make it 4-1. However, the Terriers were quick to respond with a three run fifth to tie the game once again.
In the bottom of the sixth, Allegheny broke the game open.
Samantha Valera (Chicago, Ill./Lane Technical) put the Gators in front with a sacrifice fly. A Ziggas single scored one more run, then Cramer cleared the bases to make it 9-4. Allegheny tacked on one more run via error to secure the 10-4 win.
Allegheny totaled 11 hits in the game. Lafferty went three-for-four with two RBI and two runs scored. Ziggas and Osgood both had two hits, a RBI and a run. Cramer had two RBI.
Vradenburg picked up the win in relief. She went three innings, striking out three while giving up just one hit.
The Gators are back on the road Saturday (April 13) when the travel to Ohio Wesleyan University for a NCAC doubleheader.
