WASHINGTON, D.C. – Catholic softball earned a pair of five-inning victories over Immaculata on Wednesday afternoon to improve to 16-12 on the year.

GAME ONE – Catholic 12-1 Immaculata (5)

The Cardinals put up eight runs in the top of the fifth inning to secure a 12-1 victory over Immaculata in game one.

Katie Scolese, Amy Gastright, and Kaitlyn Murphy each homered to lead a Catholic offense that saw seven different players drive in a run.

Katie Hurd pitched all 5.0 innings, allowing just two hits and one run while striking out three to earn her fifth win of the season.  

Catholic opened up the game with four runs on five hits in the top of the first inning. Alex Garza, Caroline Adams, and Amanda Gomez each singled to load the bases with nobody out. Scolese added an RBI on a fielder's choice ground ball to the shortstop. Olivia Stinchcomb hit a two-run double with two outs to put the Cardinals ahead 3-0 before she scored on an RBI double from Sarah Spaeth.

The Mighty Macs manufactured their lone run of the game in the bottom of the third as Kaitlyn Carter was hit by a pitch and was sacrificed into scoring position. Kristin Carter singled to right-center to put Immaculata on the board.

Courtney Gable held Catholic in check during the second, third, and fourth innings, but the Cardinals broke it open in the fifth.

Gomez led off the inning with a double to left-center before Scolese ripped a two-run shot to put the Cardinals ahead 6-1. Catholic went back-to-back as Gastright blasted a homer to center to push the lead to 7-1. Emma Mercadante entered for Immaculata and retired Stinchcomb and Spaeth before allowing five runs with two outs in the inning.

Murphy started the two-out push with a solo shot to left-center. Hailee Weiss walked and advanced as Garza reached on an error. Adams laced a double to score Weiss and push the lead to 9-1. Gomez rapped her fourth hit of the day, a triple, to score two more runs for the Cardinals. Another error allowed Gomez to score to make it a 12-1 advantage.

Hurd retired the final three batters of the game to close out a five-inning victory.

GAME TWO – Catholic 9-1 Immaculata (5)

The Cardinals started off game two with another four-run first inning to jump ahead of the Mighty Macs. Garza and Gomez singled while Adams reached on an error to load the bases for Scolese. The freshman drove in two more runs with a double to left to put Catholic up 2-0. Gastright followed with another two-run double and just like that the Cardinals led it 4-0.

The Cardinals added a fifth run on an error in the top of the second after two singles and a walk loaded the bases. Bruce McConkey's team plated two runs in the third to make it four straight innings with a run scored for Catholic, putting the Cardinals ahead 7-0. Stinchcomb drew a leadoff walk before Spaeth lined a single to left. Murphy grounded into a double play, but Spaeth moved up to second and scored on a two-out single to left off the bat of Weiss. Garza singled to center and Weiss scored on an error to extend the lead to 7-0.

In the fifth inning, Spaeth slammed her second home run of the season to push the lead to seven before Garza finished off the scoring with an RBI double to plate Weiss. Stinchcomb pitched the final frame to close out a 9-1 victory for the Cardinals.

Justina Benvenuto earned the win with 4.0 innings pitched and just one earned run allowed. She struck out four while notching her third win of the year.

STATS OF NOTE

• With five hits each on the day, Garza sits first and Gomez sits second on the team in hits with 29 and 28 knocks respectively. Garza leads the team with a .403 average while Gomez is second on the team, hitting .346.
• With a home run and five RBI on the day, Scolese now leads the team in RBIs by 11 while remaining in a tie for the team lead in extra-base hits with Spaeth at 12.
• Weiss had three hits and a pair of walks on the day, bumping her on-base percentage up to .371. She is tied with Garza for the team lead in walks with 11.
• Hurd tossed her second complete game of the year to earn her team-high fifth win. She leads the team with 54.2 innings pitched and 40 strikeouts. Her next appearance in the circle will be the 50^th of her career.