Pacers Take Key Twinbill from Cedar Crest
Kaitlyn Epler had a big day to help the Pacers extend their win streak to 10 games

Pacers Take Key Twinbill from Cedar Crest

Softball - 4/21/2017 6:23:00 PM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score

Scranton, Pa. – A Friday afternoon showdown between two of the top five teams in the Colonial States Athletic Conference playoff race lived up to it's billing, with Marywood taking both games over Cedar Crest by three runs. The Pacers won the opener 7-4 and the nightcap 4-1.

Marywood extends their win streak to 10 games as the Pacers improve to 14-13 (14-2 CSAC) and remain in sole possession of second place in the standings, one game behind Neumann who they have yet to play.
The Falcons slipped to 19-10 (10-6 CSAC) and remain in fifth place.

Marywood used a four-run fourth to rally past the Falcons in game one.  The Pacers enjoyed a 2-0 lead after one inning of play when Brooke Labs brought home Kaitlyn Epler on a routine groundout and Heather Schultz scored on a wild pitch.

Cedar Crest took the lead in the third as Dallas Horning blasted a three-run homer over the centerfield fence. 

Marywood knotted the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the third thanks to an RBI double to right from Alexa Scala that plated Epler.

In the fourth, Marywood broke the tie as Kelsey Killeen and Sara Hayes both scored on wild pitches to put the Pacers up two, and Labs brought home her second and third RBIs of the game with a single through the right side to score Heather Schultz and Lauryn Butler.

Despite giving one back in the top of the seventh, Marywood held on for the win.

Katie Siano (4-3) got the win, allowing four runs on nine hits in a complete-game outing.  Laura Rau suffered just her third loss to fall to 10-3 for the Falcons.  Rau allowed six earned runs in 3.2 innings of work.  Kendra Pekurny shut down the Pacers over the final 2.1 innings, allowing just one hit.

Labs finished 1-for-3 with the three RBI for Marywood. Scala had the Pacers' lone extra base hit with her double, while Epler and Schultz both plated two runs.  Molly Schnaubelt was the only Falcon with multiple hits, going 2-for-4.

Game two was another tight affair.  Tied 0-0 in the bottom of the third, Epler tripled to center to give the Pacers a runner in scoring position with only one out.  After a walk put Schultz on first, she would advance uncontested to second to give Marywood two runners in scoring position.

Breanna Young would then work herself out of the jam, getting a pop-out back to herself at the mound for a second out and a flyout to center to end the inning and keep the game scoreless.

Marywood would finally take the lead in the bottom of the fourth as Malory Porada doubled off the centerfield fence to score Kirstie Alvarez, who had also doubled to center to open the inning.

Marywood got an important insurance run in the bottom of the fifth.  Scala hit in to a fielder's choice that got Epler out at the plate after a throw in from the shortstop, but Schultz advanced to third and would score on a throwing error as the catcher tried to double her up.

That run came in handy as the Falcons got on the board in the bottom of the sixth as Kaylee Martinez homered to left to cut the Pacers' lead in half.

Another throwing error in the bottom of the sixth put Marywood up 3-1 before Epler singled to left to Porada across the plate and give the Pacers at three-run cushion heading into the top of the seventh.

After giving up a single to start the seventh, Alvarez got two players looking sandwiched around a pop-out to short to pick up her seventh win on the mound (7-5).  The recent CSAC Hitter of the Week and ECAC North Region Player of the Week fanned five batters and allowed just five hits in the win.

Porada finished the nightcap 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles and an RBI.  Epler was 3-for-4 with triple and RBI.

Marywood travels to Cairn tomorrow for another CSAC doubleheader. Game one begins at 1:00 pm in Langhorne.
 
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