WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Catholic University softball team picked up its third doubleheader sweep within the span of a week after defeating McDaniel 2-1 and 12-4 on Tuesday afternoon. The victories extend the Cardinal win streak to seven for the first time since 2021 when the team started the season 8-0.
Game 1 - Catholic 2, McDaniel 1
Catholic recorded six hits and two RBI in the first contest that saw only three runs cross the plate. The home team scored one run in both the first and fourth inning before allowing their opponent to cut the deficit in half in the top of the sixth. Thanks to brilliant fielding all around, the Cardinals were able to secure the victory without batting in the bottom of the seventh.
The early run for Catholic came after
Sophia Fike hit a lead off double to center field. She stole third during teammate
Mia Szap's at bat, giving
Katie Scolese the perfect opportunity to record an RBI with a sacrifice fly to right field. Fike had two doubles on the day bringing her season total to six.
The roles reversed in the fourth inning when this time it was Scolese who hit a double to right center to get things started. She then advanced to third on a fly out to right field.
Kerri Hatcliffe came to the plate with two outs and battled to send a single up the middle for her seventh RBI of the season.
The Cardinals faced a dangerous situation in the top of the sixth as the Green Terror gained momentum down one. Two singles and an error loaded the bases with no outs. The fourth batter of the inning slapped a hit right back to the pitcher but a force out at the plate kept McDaniel scoreless. Another error allowed the runner on third to come home but a huge double play from Scolese to Szap to Hatcliffe ended the inning.
Center fielder
Caroline Adams made two crucial outs the seventh inning with running grabs to her left and then to her right to keep the Cardinal advantage intact.
Pitcher
Aubrynn Arcement produced another stellar performance from the circle to pick up her fourth-consecutive win and sixth of the season. The sophomore struck out one batter and allowed only three hits in seven innings without walking a single batter. Opposing pitcher Hannah Costa gave up six hits and two earned runs while striking out one and walking zero of her 24 batters faced.
Game 2 - Catholic 12, McDaniel 4
The second contest did not show any resemblance of the first. Runs were scored by both teams in the first two innings and the Cardinals continued to add to their lead throughout each subsequent inning.
Hatcliffe shined during game two. After recording just two RBI all of last season, the sophomore drove in three runs off of two hits to bring her RBI total to four on the day. She started with a single up the middle in the bottom of the third and then singled to right field her next time up in the fourth.
In addition to Hatcliffe, six other batters recorded a hit in the contest and five recorded at least one RBI. Szap led the Cardinals in hits, going a perfect 3-3 at the plate. The freshman, who has started 17 of her 18 games played, also added two RBI to her stat line.
Fike extended her hit streak to fourteen. She has recorded in a hit in all but two of the Cardinals' 20 games and has recorded more than one hit in 10 games.
Amy Gastright, who earned Landmark Conference Athlete of the Week honors earlier this week, continued to produce in massive moments. The junior recorded two hits and an RBI to bring her season totals to 11 and nine respectively.
Alex Pley got the start in the circle for game two and pitched three innings before giving way to
Olivia Stinchcomb who finished the game in the fourth and fifth to end it early courtesy of a run rule.
The Cardinals will continue their home stand on Thursday, March 28 as they prepare to take on Scranton. The doubleheader matchup is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.
