ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – The Catholic softball team hit the road for a midweek conference matchup.
Katie Scolese and the Catholic offense salvaged the split with Elizabethtown, homering three times in game one to secure a win on the day.
GAME ONE – Catholic 7, Elizabethtown 5
Sam Grillo started the day by laying down a bunt and following it up with a stolen base, showing her athleticism early.
Olivia Stinchcomb put the Cardinals on the board first with an RBI single to right center.
Aubrynn Arcement produced three consecutive groundouts in the bottom of the first to keep the Catholic lead after the first.
Hayden Hudson led off the second with a single up the middle, but the Cardinals left her stranded. In the bottom of the inning, the Blue Jays put up three consecutive singles, pushing their first run across.
With a 1-1 ballgame in the top of the third, Stinchomb collected her second single of the day. Scolese put the Cardinals ahead 3-1 with her tenth home run of the season. With this, senior Scolese is now tied for the program record of home runs in a single season. In the bottom of the set, Arcement gave up a leadoff single, but quickly retired the inning by producing three groundouts.
In the top of the fourth, Grillo started the inning off with a solo shot. This is the second homer of the season for the senior. This sparked a string of timely offense from the Cardinals with
Emma Fleming flowing it up it single and Stinchcomb with a walk.
Katie McHugh sent a ball out to left center to stand on second with Fleming scoring the fifth run for the Cardinals. Elizabethtown battled in the bottom of the fourth to push a run across thanks to an RBI double from Jess Dunn.
The Cardinals answered in the top of the fifth, once again tallying another run.
Geneva Webber started the inning off by showing patience, earning herself a walk. The sophomore followed it up with a stolen base with Grillo in the box. Fleming poked the ball into play and collected a single while moving Webber to third. Stinchcomb sent Webber home with a double to center field, giving the Cardinals the 6-2 lead after four and half innings.
In the top of the sixth, the Cardinals added another run thanks to Arcement's solo homer to left center. The senior now has two homers this season. In the bottom of the inning,
Morrigan Gardiner took to the circle for the Cardinals. The Blue Jays capitalized on the change and loaded the bases. The Cardinals were able to collect the first out at home in an attempt to keep Elizabethtown from scoring. Despite the Catholic efforts, the next two Blue Jays sent balls into play, scoring two runs. After six complete innings, the Cardinals held onto the 7-5 lead.
Morgan O'Sullivan entered the circle in the bottom of the seventh, looking to shut down the Blue Jays and secure the win. The sophomore did just that and earned her first save of the season in the process.
GAME TWO – Elizabethtown 2, Catholic 0
The Blue Jay offense struck early in game two, pushing a run across in the bottom of the first. With
Sophia Colangelo on the rubber, Hannah Long capitalized on a throwing error to move herself over to third to start the bottom half. With a runner in scoring position, the Blue Jays scored on a sacrifice fly to center field.
Arcement doubled in the top of the second, trying to create some momentum for her squad, but was doubled up on a ground ball from McHugh to close out the half.
The Blue Jays found their second and final run of the game in the bottom of the third. A pair of singles once again put Elizabethtown in a position to score off of a sacrifice fly to center.
The rest of the game proved to be a rubber match, forcing quick innings with minimal offense. Despite Fleming starting the top of the seventh off with a single up the middle, the Cardinals were unable to produce any runs to stay in the game. Ultimately, Catholic fell 2-0 against Elizabethtown in game two.
Inside the Box Score:
- Scolose's game one home run ties her with the single season home run program record (10). The senior also entered the record books for RBIs in a season for the third time in her career with 33. She currently sits tied for ninth with her 2023 season record.
- Catholic logged three home runs in game one, coming from Scolese, Arcement, and Grillo. This marks the first game of the season where three separate Cardinals recorded homers and second game of the season with three blasted balls.
- Grillo also moved up the program record book for single season stolen bases with her one today. She now sits tied for third with 22 this season.
- In the circle, Arcement earned her seventh win of the season. The senior forced 13 groundouts and two strikeouts in her five innings pitched. O'Sullivan recorded her first save of the season in game one.
Up next, the Cardinals will travel to Fredericksburg, Virginia to take on Mary Washington in a non-conference doubleheader on Saturday, April 19th. First pitch of the doubleheader is slated for 1 p.m. with game two to follow shortly after.
