GRANTHAM, Pa. — The Catholic softball team went back on the road for a Thursday doubleheader with Messiah, winning both games to extend its win streak to five games.
GAME ONE - Catholic 6, Messiah 4
The Cardinals started off the scoring in the top of the second inning with a rally started by
Olivia Stinchcomb who poked a single down the left field line.
Amy Gastright followed up with a double into left center field to bring Stinchcomb home to score the game's first run. Two batters later,
Amanda Gomez cashed in with a two-out RBI double into left center field to trade places with Gastright to double the Cardinals lead.
A two-out rally added another run on to the Catholic lead in the top of the third inning after back-to-back singles from
Elise Faxon and Stinchcomb set the table for Gastright. Gastright continued her hot start to the game with another RBI base-hit up the middle to score Faxon and make it a 3-0 Catholic lead.
The Falcons came up with a run in both the third and the fifth inning to claw back within one.
Alex Pley kept the Messiah lineup in check throughout the first six innings allowing just those two runs while surrendering just five hits to keep the Cardinals in the lead.
The Cardinals came up with some key insurance runs in the top of the seventh inning, putting up another crooked number in the inning to extend the lead to 6-2. Gastright added another RBI to her tally with a sacrifice fly into center field to bring in
Katie Scolese and a throwing error allowed
Olivia Brousseau to also come into score.
Kerri Hatcliffe came through on the next at-bat, plating Gastright on a single through the right side to bring in the third Catholic run of the inning.
Messiah plated two runs and brought the tying run to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the seventh.
Morgan O'Sullivan came in the game out of the pen and struck out the final batter of the game swinging to capture the first save of her career and secure a 6-4 game one victory for the Cardinals.
GAME TWO - Catholic 4, Messiah 1
Sophia Colangelo was lights out in five innings of work and the Cardinal bats came through in the third and fourth innings to make it relatively painless sweep of the Falcons.
The freshman dropped her ERA to a minuscule 1.56 as she improved to 6-1 on the season. Colangelo allowed just four hits and no earned runs in her second straight scoreless outing.
The bottom of the order got the job started in the top of the third inning as
Katie McHugh, hitting in the eighth spot, tripled to right to start the inning.
Geneva Webber followed with a triple of her own, scoring McHugh to put Catholic on the board. Webber would be retired trying to score on a
Toni Ruley grounder to second, but Catholic would push a run across as Scolese drove in Ruley with a base hit to center.
Catholic struck with two more runs in the fourth, using the big fly to its advantage. Stinchcomb blasted her third home run of the season to open the inning before McHugh followed with her third of the season with two outs in the frame.
After five strong innings from Colangelo, Stinchcomb took her turn in the circle and pitched the final two innings, allowing an unearned run.
Scolese added three more hits to her career total after reaching 100 hits as a Cardinal on Saturday at Juniata. She is hitting .358 in 20 games this season and slugging .552 after smacking her fifth double of the year.
Next up for the Cardinals is the first road Landmark doubleheader of the season as the team travels to take on Wilkes. First pitch for game one is slated for 1 pm.
