FORT MYERS, Fla. (March 7, 2015) – The Drew University softball team opened the 2015 season with a pair of losses, 2-1 against Wartburg College and 5-0 opposite St. John Fisher College, on its first day of Spring Break competition at the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic.
 
A late Rangers (0-2) miscue in Game 1 on Saturday allowed Wartburg (6-5) to take the 2-1 lead in the top of the seventh, spoiling a complete game, seven strikeout effort by senior starting pitcher Laura D'Ornellas (1 ER, 7 hits). In Game 2, St. John Fisher improved to 9-0 on the season on the back of a four-run fourth inning, which was aided by two Drew errors.
 
Four Drew freshmen picked up their first career collegiate hits on Saturday, and the Rangers competed well against two sharpened teams that were playing in their final games of their respective Spring Break excursions. The Rangers, meanwhile, were playing on dirt and grass for the first time since spring of 2014.
 
"All things considered, I thought the team played really well today," said head coach Charlotte Labate. "We said all along that the freshmen would need to contribute, and they showed that they will do that. We got some great pitching, and there were just a few costly mistakes that gave us some trouble. I thought our defense in the outfield was a bright spot today."
 
Late Miscue Gives Wartburg 2-1 Edge Over Drew
Box Score

D'Ornellas was sharp in the 2015 season opener, scattering seven hits over her seven innings, while punching out seven batters and walking two. Freshmen Danielle Martinez and Brooke Adams each got their first career hit out of the way, and sophomore outfielder Phylicia Pellot was 1-for-3.
 
Wartburg drew first blood in what would become a tight pitchers duel with an unearned run in the top of the third inning. A throwing error on a sacrifice bunt attempt moved runners on the corners with no outs, but D'Ornellas worked out of trouble nicely as she coaxed ground balls, which the Drew defense handled nicely for two outs without allowing a run. However, a walk with the bases loaded plated the Knights' first run for the 1-0 lead.
 
It didn't take long for the Rangers to even the score, stringing together an Adams single, Pellot reaching on an error, and D'Ornellas working a walk to load the bases with no outs. Then with one out, sophomore first baseman Emma Agostini drew the walk with the bases full of Rangers and picked up the season's first RBI.
 
The duel in the circle continued as both pitchers piled on the strikeouts, setting up an exciting finish in the final inning. In Wartburg's half of the seventh, the Knights lead off with a bunt single, and played small ball to move the runner to second on a sacrifice. A passed ball moved that runner to third, and despite D'Ornellas' best effort to strand her after a one-out strikeout, Wartburg would plate the run on a two-out infield single.
 
Martinez lead off the home half of the seventh with her first career hit, but the game ended two batters later when Adams lined out sharply to the first baseman, who made the tag on Martinez in the path to seal the 2-1 Wartburg victory.
 
St. John Fisher Jumps on Drew Fielding Errors for 4-Run Fourth
Box Score
 
Freshmen Heather Ronchi and Lauren Mastropierro recorded their first career hits for Drew, and senior catcher Kate McNamara had her 91^st career hit as the Rangers fell victim to the Cardinals, 5-0.
 
Agostini went the distance on the mound for the Rangers, spreading eight hits and two walks over her six innings. Three of the five runs charged to Agostini were earned.
 
Those two unearned runs for the Cardinals came in the fateful fourth inning, when two Drew fielding errors and two walks extended the inning for a good hitting team and St. John Fisher hung four runs on the board with just two hits.
 
The Rangers' best chance to rebound came in the top of the sixth inning, when Mastropierro lead off with a looping single to center field. She then became Drew's first runner in scoring position during the contest after Pellot walked, but the Cardinals escaped danger and cruised to the finish of their 5-0 victory to begin their season at a perfect 9-0.
 
The Rangers return to action at the Gene Cusic Classic on Sunday against the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford at 1:00 p.m., directly followed by a tilt with Bridgewater State University.