EASTON, Pa. – Lafayette softball opened Patriot League play in style on Saturday afternoon, registering 3-2 and 9-1 victories over Holy Cross on a windy day at Metzgar Fields. The Leopards stretched their win streak to four games.
The Leopards captured the Patriot League opener in extra innings.
Katie Harrington ripped the first pitch of the eighth inning over the wall in right centerfield.
Maggie Klug reached on an error and set the stage for the win. With two outs,
Caroline Hall laced a double to the gap and Klug scored all the way from first for the 3-2 final.
The Leopards were buoyed by a strong pitching performance from
Makayla Lecky who tossed seven innings, allowing one earned run on eight hits with a strikeout.
Marisa Powell came on to relieve her in the top of the eighth and gathered the win.
The Leopards and Crusaders exchanged runs in bottom of the first and top of the second. Harrington's double plated
Dani Rosner for the 1-0 lead. The Crusaders tied the game at 1-1 with an Ava Gambichier RBI-single. The scored remained there until the eighth.
Holy Cross took its first lead of the game in extras, scoring on a fielder's choice. The Leopards avoided a second run when Harrington cut down a runner at home (5-2) to trail 2-1 and set the stage for the heroics in the bottom half.
In game two, the Leopards blew open a tie game with a six-run fourth inning in a 9-1 mercy-rule final in five innings.
In that decisive inning, Lafayette batted around its order.
Regan Dillon (two-run homer) and Klug (single) each drove in a pair of runs in the frame with
Olivia Catalina (double)
Emma Ahlborn (single) also coming through with timely hits.
The Maroon and White put away things in the fifth inning.
Jocelyn O'Keeffe tripled home Dillon after her lead-off single. Then,
Mary Grace O'Neill finished the job, laying down a perfect squeeze bunt to score O'Keefe and end the game.
Parker Rowden threw five innings, allowing one earned run on two hits with five strikeouts and a pair of walks in the circle victory. Sophia Roncone, who was the loser in game one, took the loss in game two, surrendering seven runs on eight hits.
The Leopards will close out the Holy Cross series on Sunday with the first pitch slated for noon.
