By Jensyn Hartzell
Sports Editor
The Washington College softball team conquered the Marymount University Saints in a double-header competition on Wednesday, April 20. The games were played on the WC Softball Field.
The Shorewomen outscored the Saints 2–1 in the first inning of game one and furthered their lead in the bottom of the second and the fourth. Junior Lexie Witmer singled to run freshman Chloe Trefz home in both innings.
During the bottom of the sixth, the Shorewomen solidified their victory with a four-point run. Freshman Gen Kozub, Trefz, sophomore Hannah Solge, and senior Alyssa Vieira scored to finish the game at 8–2.
The Garnets led 1–0 in the second game until the bottom of the fifth. A five-point run began after Witmer hit a sacrifice fly to score Kozub. Sophomore Lexi Barnhart tacked on one more run, unearned, in the sixth inning for another win for the Shorewomen at 6–1.
Kozub allowed no runs from the second to sixth inning of the competition.
The Shorewomen faced Franklin & Marshall College on Thursday, April 21, for a Centennial Conference match. They increased their five-game win streak to seven in the double-header games against the Diplomats in Lancaster, Pa.
The Shorewomen dominated the first game. At the top of the second, they earned four points to push them ahead of the Diplomats, 4–0. Senior Megan Robins scored Witmer and Vieira in the sixth on a single to right field to finalize the score at 6–0.
The Shorewomen were first to put themselves on the board again in the second game. The Diplomats tied the score, 1–1, in the bottom of the second and pulled ahead in the third, 3–1.
The lead was regained by the Shorewomen in the top of the seventh after freshman Maddy Kendall doubled to score fellow freshman Lilly Cook. The game ended at 6–4, Shorewomen.
The Shorewomen’s win streak was broken by Gettysburg College on Saturday, April 23, with two lost double-header matches.
The Bullets took the first game, 18–1. The single point was scored by Barnhart after a single from Kozub.
During the second game, Witmer hit a home run to left field that allowed Solge to score with her. The Shorewomen were unable to score again during the rest of the game while the Bullets pushed ahead. The final score was 13–2, Bullets.
After the three double-headers, the Shorewomen’s overall record stands at 16–13 and 8–4 in the Conference. They will host the Salisbury University Sea Gulls on Thursday, April 28, at 3 and 5 p.m. for their next competition.
The WC baseball team took to Lancaster, Pa. to play against the Diplomats on Friday, April 22. The Shoremen recorded their first Conference win in a weekend of Conference play.
The Diplomats outscored the Shoremen 3–1 in the first inning, but WC took the lead in the top of the third with three runs.
Sophomore Danny Sheeler scored senior Henry Butterfield III to tie the score at 5–5 in the bottom of the ninth. Senior Brandon Hoffman singled to left field to run senior Chris Baker home and put the Shoremen ahead, 6–5, for the win.
The Shoremen split a pair of games with the Gettysburg College Bullets on Saturday, April 23, in Gettysburg, Pa. They lost the first game, 4–2.
The high-scoring second game kicked off in the top of the second, where the Shoremen took the lead at 2–0. They extended their lead to 6–0 in the fourth after senior Max Ruvo hit a home run that also scored senior Ben Ruvo.
At the top of the sixth, the Shoremen capped their unanswered, 13-point scoring run with another home run from senior CJ Gillmer for three points. Gillmer allowed freshman Erik Risnychok and senior Joe Curtin to score as well.
The Bullets responded with 11 points earned in the bottom of the seventh to cut the Shoremen’s lead 13–12. The Shoremen scored three points in the final inning for the win at 16–12.
On Sunday, April 24, the Shoremen played their final games of the weekend at Athey Park against the Ursinus College Bears.
The Shoremen won the first game of the day, 12–5. They outscored the Bears in every inning.
Freshman Mike Bukowski hit his first collegiate home run in the bottom of the fourth, followed by another home run by M. Ruvo to put the score at 1–5. The Shoremen did not give up the lead for the remainder of the competition, pulling the furthest ahead in the bottom of the fifth inning with four points scored.
Bukowski was named the Goose Nation TV Player of the Game. Freshman Joe Morrissey recorded his fifth double-digit strikeout during the game.
The Bears retaliated in the second game, where they ultimately won 4–1. The single point was scored by Hoffman after Curtin singled to center field in the bottom of the sixth.
Junior Jay Nesson and freshman Alex Martin pitched in relief to throw five scoreless runs together against the Bears. Nesson was also named the Goose Nation TV Player of the Game.
The Shoremen’s Conference record evened at 7–7 after the games with their overall record advancing to 21–14. They will travel to Baltimore, Md. on Friday, April 29, to challenge Johns Hopkins University for their second-to-last Conference game at 3:30 p.m.
Photos by Grace Hazelhurst