SCRANTON, Pa. - Catholic got the bats going on Thursday evening in Scranton, plating 24 runs as the Cardinals and the Royals split. Catholic is 14-12 on the year with a 3-3 record in Landmark Conference play. 

GAME ONE - Catholic 16-6 Scranton (6)

Catholic scored nine runs in the first two innings to jump out ahead of Scranton in game one before finishing off the Royals with seven more runs in the sixth inning. The Cardinals tallied 10 hits and 13 walks in the contest en route to 16 runs, two more than Catholic had scored in the previous eight contests.

Katie Scolese led the offensive attack with three hits, including a double, and five RBIs. Alex Garza also had a multi-hit game at the top of the lineup, driving in a pair of runs for Catholic. Amy Gastright, Kaitlyn Murphy, and Hailee Weiss each added two RBIs in the game. 

Olivia Stinchcomb earned her fourth win for Catholic while Justina Benvenuto earned her third save of the season with 1.2 scoreless innings. 

The Cardinals took a 3-1 advantage in the first inning as Scolese brought in two runs with a double, scoring Garza and Caroline Adams. Murphy drew a bases-loaded walk later in the inning to score Scolese and put the Cardinals up by three runs. The Royals got one back in the top with leadoff hitter Jenna Davida reaching with a double before scoring on a sacrifice fly. 

Five Catholic hits led to six more runs in the second inning, putting Catholic up 9-1. Garza led off with a double, followed by a walk from Adams to push Scranton starter Carley Noble from the game. Emma Tirollo retired Amanda Gomez before Scolese brought in another run with an RBI single. Scolese stole second and Tirollo tossed a wild pitch, moving Scolese up to third and scoring Adams to make it 5-1. The Cardinals scored their final four runs of the inning with two outs starting with an RBI single from Stinchcomb to score Scolese. Weiss drew a bases-loaded walk to score Stinchcomb before Garza singled up the middle, scoring Murphy and Sarah Spaeth to push the Cardinal lead to eight runs. 

Davida hit a solo shot in the third to make it 9-2 before the Royals pushed four runs across in the fourth to narrow the gap to 9-6. Kylie Rochford and Alyssa Mosconi each drove in two runs in the inning for Scranton. 

The score held at 9-6 through the fifth until Catholic plated seven runs in the sixth inning to take a 16-6 advantage. After a pair of walks to open the inning, Gastright doubled to right center to push the lead to 11-6. Spaeth brought in a run with an RBI double to double up Scranton before an RBI ground out from Murphy made it 13-6. Weiss followed with another RBI ground out to make the lead eight. After two walks and an error loaded the bases, Scolese brought in two more runs with a single. Benvenuto allowed one hit in the bottom of the inning before closing things out in six innings. 

A career-high five RBIs for Scolese puts keeps her in the team lead with 19. Gastright became the third Cardinal to reach 10 RBIs on the season with her third double of the year. Spaeth's ninth extra-base hit of the year leaves her one shy of Scolese for the team lead. Stinchcomb joins Katie Hurd and Aubrynn Arcement with four wins in the circle. 

GAME TWO - Catholic 8-10 Scranton

Spaeth and Gomez each had three hits for Catholic as the offense remained hot, but Scranton used a five-run third inning to pick up a win in game two and salvage a split. 

The Cardinals picked up right where they left off, scoring four runs in the first inning of game two. Adams and Gomez both singled out and Scolese hit a grounder to short that was thrown away, allowing Adams to score the first run of the game. Stinchcomb drove in a run with an RBI fielder's choice to put Catholic up 2-0 with two outs. Spaeth and Murphy followed with back-to-back RBI singles to put Catholic up by four runs right off the bat. 

The Royals got one back in the bottom of the first before tying it in the second against Benvenuto. Rochford and Davida drove in runs with a single and double respectively before Sarah Stepnowski tied the game with a sacrifice fly. 

The Cardinals jumped back on top in the third, scoring a pair of runs to make it 6-4. Stinchcomb and Spaeth each hit one-out singles before Murphy walked to load the bases. Weiss brought in a run with a sacrifice fly to score Stinchcomb. After Garza drew a walk, Spaeth scored on a wild pitch, putting Catholic up by two runs. 

Hurd entered to start the third, but Scranton posted five runs on three hits to make it a 9-6 ballgame after three innings. Alyssa Segnello and Stepnowski each drove in two runs in the inning. The Royals would score one more run in the fourth to make it 10-6. 

Catholic chipped away in the fifth with a leadoff triple from Spaeth and an RBI single from Murphy to make it 10-7. Gomez singled to center to score Garza with two outs to make it 10-8, but that would be it for the Catholic offense. 

Stinchcomb tossed 3.0 scoreless innings of relief for Catholic. Spaeth's second triple of the season put her into a tie with Scolese with 10 extra-base hits. 

Catholic will travel to Immaculata on Wednesday for a non-conference doubleheader.