WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The Allegheny softball team concluded their trip to The Spring Games Friday (March 7) against Marian and Northwestern (Minn.).
 
The Gators dropped game one against Marian 4-1 and game two to Northwestern 8-5.
 
Game One - Marian 4, Allegheny 1
 
The first game of the day was scoreless until the fifth inning.
 
Cameron Long (Midlothian, Va./Midlothian) led-off the top of the fifth with a double to right center. Julia Perillo (New Fairfield, Conn./New Fairfield) followed up with a single over the head of the pitcher, bringing Long home for the game's first run.
 
In the bottom of the frame, the Sabres hit a one-out triple and pushed the run across of an error, tying the game.
 
Marian gained the advantage in the sixth as they rallied for three runs off of five hits to take a 4-1 lead into the seventh.
 
Avery Magee (Chandler, Ariz./Hamilton) was hit by a pitch in the ninth to put a runner on, but the Gators were unable to push a run across as they fell 4-1.
 
Inside the Box

• Perillo hit a RBI single.
• Long doubled and scored a run.
• Audrey Blarr (Clarence, N.Y./Clarence) and Olivia Devries (Kent, Ohio/Field) both tallied a single.
• Belardinelli struck out five batters. 

Game Two - Northwestern 8, Allegheny 5
 
The Gators scored in the bottom of the first. Devries singled to right in between walks to Samantha Phillips (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mount Lebanon) and Sofia Genareo (Lakewood, N.Y./Southwestern Central) to load the bases. Magee delivered a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Phillips for the first run of the contest. 
 
However, the Eagles answered with two runs in the second to take the lead. They tacked on one more in the third to make it 3-1.
 
A pair of errors put Genareo and Magee on with one out in the bottom of the third, but a lineout double play ended the inning.
 
After the Eagles scored again in the fourth, the Gators responded in the bottom of the frame. Alaina Sharp (Lewistown, Pa./Mifflin County) singled before Long doubled down the first base line. A single to shallow right by Phillips scored Sharp before Long crossed the plate on a wild pitch to cut the lead to one. A groundout by Belardinelli allowed Phillips to score as the Gators tied the game at four.
 
The back-and-forth continued into the fifth as the Eagles loaded the bases with one out. They were able to push one run across on an error, but an outfield assist Sharp caught a runner at the plate, preventing a second runner from scoring.
 
The top of the sixth inning saw the Eagles score twice off three hits and an error to push their lead to 7-4. 
 
In the bottom of the frame, the Gators earned a pair of walks with two outs. Devries sent a double to the left field fence, scoring Phillips to cut the lead to two runs.
 
Northwestern added an insurance run in the top of the seventh and kept the Gators off the bases in the bottom of the frame to seal the win.
 
Inside the Box

• Phillips had two hits, a RBI and scored three times.
• Devries had two hits, including a double, while driving in a run.
• Belardinelli and Magee also drove a run in.
• Long recorded a double.
• Samantha Dzierba (Colden, N.Y./Orchard Park) struck out a pair of batters in relief.
• Madison Hulse (San Diego, Calif./Rancho Bernardo) struck out three in the start. 

News and Notes

• The Gators are now 2-1 all-time against Marian.
• This marks the first game with Northwestern. 

Up Next
The Gators return to Meadville to host Mount Aloysius Wednesday (March 12).