SELINSGROVE, Pa. - In its final road series of the season, the Drew University softball team went to extra innings twice but ultimately fell 5-2 in the eighth inning in both games of the Landmark Conference doubleheader with Susquehanna University on Sunday afternoon.
After today's games, the Rangers sit at 22-15 overall and end Landmark Conference competition at 4-8. Meanwhile, Susquehanna improves to 8-2 in the conference and 20-8 overall.
In game one, each team plated two runs in the first three innings before going silent at the plate through the seventh inning. After the River Hawks struck first, Drew answered in the second thanks to a couple of extra base hits from sophomore first baseman
Madi Baldwin and senior outfielder
Madi Precht. With one out and one on, Baldwin rocketed a double to left center to tie things at 1-1, before Precht legged out a triple two batters later to drive in the go-ahead run.
Unfortunately, it was Susquehanna who ended up breaking the tie in the top of the eighth, with Zoe Bork driving in what became the game-winning run on her third RBI of the day.
Junior
Bailey Comeau got the start in game one and blanked Susquehanna from the fourth through the seventh innings while going the distance and racking up seven strikeouts.
In game two, the Rangers got on the board first this time as junior outfielder
Molly O'Brien scored all the way from second base on perfect bunt single up the right field line from Precht. Then, after the Rangers fell behind 2-1, Precht came through for the Rangers again as she recorded another RBI bunt to tie the game up at 2-2 in the fifth.
Just like in game one, however, both teams remained deadlocked through the seventh inning and had to go to extras where Susquehanna again pulled away in the eighth on a go-ahead RBI from Bork.
In the circle, freshman
Teagan Bradley was outstanding through the first seven innings, allowing only four hits and two runs. Aside from a two-run homer in the fourth, she had completely silenced the River Hawk's bats until they broke through in the eighth inning.
The Rangers will look to rebound as they return home for their final outing of the season on Thursday, when they face St. Joseph's-Brooklyn in a doubleheader starting at 3:30 p.m.
