Madison, NJ – The Catholic University softball team split with Drew in its road doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals plated six runs in each contest and came out victorious, 6-2, in game one before falling 7-6 in game two. 

Coming off a series of postponements due to weather over the past two weeks, the Cardinals were finally able to return to the field for their second Landmark Conference doubleheader of the season. They now sit at 15-7 overall and 3-1 in the Conference. 

Game 1 - Catholic 6, Drew 2

The heart of the lineup produced big numbers for the Cardinals in a game that saw the visitors record eight hits and six RBIs. Hitting in the number three spot, Katie Scolese bombed a three-run homer to left center to put her team on the board in the top of the fifth inning. In the cleanup spot, Amy Gastright continued her hot streak and led the team with three hits and added one RBI. Hitting fifth, Alex Garza added a hit and two RBIs to her totals as well. 

Pitcher Aubrynn Arcement saw three up and three down in the first two innings before giving up a double to Deja Robinson in the third, who eventually scored on a fielder's choice. The Rangers held the one-run lead until the fifth.

Amanda Gomez stepped up to the plate in the top of the fifth, singled to left field, and proceeded to steal second. Sophia Fike drew a walk to give the Cardinals two base runners with Scolese up to bat. Scolese went deep for her fourth home run of the year and eighth of her career. She leads the team in home runs this season and is only joined in the category by Gastright who has one on the season. 

The Rangers doubled their point total in the sixth with a lead-off triple and another fielder's choice RBI. The Cardinals held strong after that, however, and entered the seventh up one with a chance to extend their lead. 

After a leadoff bunt attempt by Toni Ruley led to the first out of the inning, Fiked reached base on a single to the shortstop and was able to steal second. Miz Szap reached on a hit-by-pitch before the Rangers recorded another out to bring up Gastright with first and second and two outs. Gastright delivered a single to center field to score Fike and push Szap to third. Garza joined the party with her own single to center field to plate Szap and Gastright. 

The single from Fike marks the 100th hit of her Catholic career. The Division I transfer from Seattle University recorded 40 hits in her first season at Catholic, 28 in her second and already has 35 this season. 

Three quick outs in the bottom of the seventh secured the Cardinals the four-run victory. Arcement pitched all seven innings and faced 27 batters. She recorded a career-high seven strikeouts and only gave up three hits. 
 
Game 2 - Drew 7, Catholic 6

Catholic received solid hitting throughout game two but came up just shy of overcoming an early deficit. The Cardinals got on the scoreboard first in the third inning, but had to play from behind for the remainder of the contest after giving up five runs in the following half-inning. 

The Cardinals recorded 14 hits from seven different players and five RBIs. Drew matched their intensity, securing 12 hits and seven RBIs from a mix of seven players as well. 

The first run of the game was scored by Szap. The freshman hit a double to left field with two outs. Scolese added to the rally with a single up the middle for her fourth RBI of the day.  The Rangers opened things up in the bottom of the inning. They recorded five hits including three singles and two doubles. The Cardinals did not commit an error in the inning and we were able to get out of it only down four. 

The fifth inning proved to be the deciding frame as Catholic hit all the way through the lineup and scored four runs to tie the game. Unfortunately, they gave the lead right back after allowing two runs in the bottom. Sam Grillo gave her team some much needed energy with a pitch-hit lead-off double to start. Fike followed it up with a triple to score Grillo. Next came four singles in a row by Szap, Scolese, Gastright, and Garza. A series of pinch runners and hitters followed to try and to keep the spark alive, but the Ranger defense kept both teams even.

Drew followed with a lead of single and drew a series of walks to score two go ahead runs. Catholic was able to plate one more run in the top of the sixth with another Fike single and a Scolese sacrifice fly, however, it was not enough to overtake Drew. 

Freshman Olivia Stinchcomb got the start in the circle and pitched two innings with 14 batters faced and one strikeout. She allowed five earned runs before giving way to Justina Benvenuto who faced 15 batters and allowed two runs to score. Arcement returned the circle in the sixth and held Drew scoreless, giving up one hit with four batters faced. 

The Cardinals will now turn their attention to a midweek contest against Mary Washington. The road doubleheader on Wednesday, April 10 is scheduled to start at 3 p.m.