Box Score Game 2 | Box Score Game 2
April 27, 2017
EASTON, Pa. -- Malori Pojar blasted her first career grand slam on Thursday, part of a six-run first inning that pushed the Leopards past Drexel, 7-4, in game two of non-league doubleheader at Metzgar Fields.
Lafayette batted around the order in that first inning. Brooke Wensel singled back through the box for the first run and Alexis Randall followed suit, driving in another run with a single up the middle. Drexel starter Devon Grippe walked the next batter to load the bases and set the stage for Pojar's grand slam and Lafayette's 7-1 advantage.
Another long ball, this time a solo shot by Samantha Sweigart in the bottom of the fourth, kept the Leopards' lead at six (7-1).
Drexel (15-25) scored two runs on a two-out, pinch-hit single by Taylor Lee in the top of the sixth, but Randall was never threatened and collected the first victory of her career. Randall allowed four runs on 10 hits and walked three. Grippe (3-7) was hit with the loss, pitching two-thirds of an inning and allowed six runs (one earned) on five hit.
In the opener, the Leopards played their second extra-inning game in four contests, losing a 4-3 decision in eight innings.
Lafayette spotted Drexel a pair of runs in the top of the second inning, but answered with three in the home half. Jenna Orlando doubled home Miranda Skurla who reached on a one-out single. Mallory Kane plated two more, going the opposite way to score Orlando and Brooke Wensel for the 3-2 lead.
The visitors tied the game with a run in the sixth inning when Linda Rush hit a solo home run to left off Leopard starter Stacy Gordon.
Drexel's Tara Konopka retired the Leopards in order in the sixth and the seventh, setting up the Dragons' offense in the eighth. Drexel put runners on the corners with one out. Savanna Johnson hit a ground ball to short and the Leopards came home with the throw which the runner beat to the plate. Stephanie Thomas, who came on in relief in the seventh, was able to get the final two outs.
Konopka (8-10) finished off the game in the eighth, walking a batter before ending the game with a line-out double play. She struck out seven, allowing three runs on nine hits with a pair of walks. Thomas (4-7) took the loss, giving up a run on a hit in two innings. Gordon allowed three runs on four hits over six innings.
The Leopards (7-25) will play their final home games of 2017 on Saturday, hosting Delaware State in a doubleheader beginning at noon.
