Steubenville, OH - The Mount Aloysius softball team hit seven home runs on Wednesday to pick up 2 wins in their AMCC opening doubleheader against Franciscan University. They took control late in game 1 to pick up a 10-6 win, and then used two dominant performances from
Lydia DeFazio (Harrison City, PA/ Penn Trafford) and
Karlie Clark (Yukon, PA/Yough) to win game 2 by a final score of 13-0.
The Mounties fell behind early in game one, as Franciscan was able to score in their first at bat. The Mounties responded in the second as they took advantage of some wildness from Franciscan. The first three Mounties to bat reached via a walk or a hit by pitch to load the bases. Briana Benscoter (Bloomsburg, PA/Bloomsburg) came through with a one out single through the left side to bring in the opening run. They would take the lead in the 4th, courtesy of a two out rally. Benscoter singled again to start the rally and
Kara Pisczek (Johnstown, PA/Conemaugh Township) followed that with a single of her own.
Courtney Link (Ebensburg, Pa/Bishop Carroll) then drove a double to left center to bring them both in.
The Mounties were unable to hold onto the lead for long, as the Barons were able to score 4 runs in the bottom half off of starter
Emily Cochran (Natrona Heights, PA/Highlands) and Pisczek, who was called into relief duty with two on and none out. The resilient Mounties did not take long to respond to being behind.
Kayla Hopkins (Canonsburg, PA/Canon McMillan) led off the inning driving a double to right field. DeFazio followed this up with a deep home run to left field to tie the game, a theme that would continue for the rest of the day.
Tawnya Holben (Pittsburgh, PA/Fox Chapel) and Cochran continued the rally after a pitching change with singles. Benscoter came through in the clutch again, doubling to centerfield to score both runners and put the Mounties ahead for good. Pisczek finished the inning as she brought in the 5th run of the frame with a triple to right.
Mount Aloysius was able to tack on two more runs in the 6th, as
Abby Reitz (Greencastle, PA/Greencastle Antrim) hit a two out single through the right side to bring in Hopkins and DeFazio. With a 7. 5 run lead in the 7th, Pisczek got into trouble late, but was able to escape the inning with only 1 run scored to finish the game. Pisczek picked up the win, moving her record on the year to 4-0. The Mounties racked up 15 hits in the game, including 3 a piece from DeFazio (3-3) and Benscoter (3-4)
The second game of the day was never in doubt, as Clark fired a complete game shutout that allowed the Mounties to slowly build a lead and finished the game with 6 runs in the final frame. Clark allowed only 2 runners in the game, a double in the 2nd and a single in the 6th. She struck out 6 batters and threw only 85 pitches.
Offensively, the Mounties had a highly productive game, as they collected 17 hits including 6 home runs. Reitz started the scoring as she hit her first career home run on a high fly ball to left field to lead off the 2nd frame. An inning later, DeFazio led off the third with a deep drive to centerfield for her second home run of the day. Hopkins followed this up with a double to left center and was driven in 3 batters later when Clark hit a long line drive that cleared the left field fence to make the score 4-0. The Mounties continued to score with extra base hits in the 4th. Pisczek hit a double to left center to start the inning and the Mounties hit another 2 out 2 run homerun, this time from DeFazio, whose fly ball to center carried just over the fence to put he Mounties up 6.
Mount Aloysius tacked on another run in the 5th on a Franciscan error, and then exploded to score the 6 runs in the 7th, all coming with 2 outs on 6 straight hits. Clark started the rally, crushing a pitch to centerfield that was gone the second it left the bat. Reitz, Pisczek and Link hit three straight singles to score one run, and Benscoter doubled to left to drive in two and DeFazio capped off the inning hitting her 3rd home run of the game and 4th of the day. The home run was a line drive that nearly hit the scoreboard over the left field fence.
DeFazio finished the game 5 for 5 with 3 home runs and 5 runs batted in. On the day, she went a perfect 8 for 8 with 4 home runs, a double and 3 singles. She scored 6 runs, drove in 7, drew a walk and was hit by a pitch. Along with her 2 hit complete game performance pushing her pitching record to 4-3, Clark finished 2 for 4 offensively with 2 home runs and 3 runs batted in.
The Mounties (15-4, 2-0) are scheduled to return to action at home on Saturday. They will host Medaille College in a doubleheader starting at 1:00 PM.
