RALEIGH, N.C. (Feb. 14) – The Salem International softball team posted a sweep at Shaw University, winning with scores of 3-1 and 9-7 at Worthdale Park.
The wins improve the Tigers to 3-1 overall this season, while the Bears fall to 0-6 overall.
In game one, Salem International scattered three hits over the first three innings, before freshman shortstop
Cass Alexy (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford) delivered an RBI-single to put the Tigers ahead 1-0. Junior
Jane Judware (North Lawrence, N.Y./St. Lawrence Central) plated a second run and freshman
Hanna Crew (Canton, Ohio/Perry) drove in an insurance run to give Salem International a 3-0 lead.
Shaw threatened in the sixth with a run off of an error and had the bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the seventh. Freshman pitcher Katie Holstein (Covington, Va./Alleghany) got the final two batters to ground out to third base to preserve the win.
Redshirt-freshman
Kayla Lynch (Painesville, Ohio/Riverside) earned the win for the Tigers. Lynch (1-1) allowed one run (zero earned) on four hits with two strikeouts. Holstein earned the save after tossing the final 1.1 innings to lock down the victory.
Alexy, junior
Katie Chryssofos (Chapmanville, W.Va./Logan) and freshman
Alyssa Discepola (Rio Grande, N.J./Middle Township) each tallied a pair of hits in the win.
Shaw powered its way to a 3-0 lead in game two, but the Tigers rallied back with a six-run fourth inning to take a 6-3 advantage. Discepola led the inning off with a double and advanced to third when Lynch reached on an error. Senior
Kayla Guta (Bentleyvile, Pa./Bentworth) drove in both with a triple to right field. After Crew plated Guta with an RBI-double, freshman
Tori Butler (Hedgesville, W.Va./Musselman) delivered an RBI-double of her own to give Salem International a 4-3 lead.
Alexy kept the inning alive with a RBI-single and advanced to second on a Chryssofos single, when Discepola capped off the inning with her second double of the inning to plate Alexy and give the Tigers a 6-3 lead.
Shaw chipped away at the Salem International lead with a run in the sixth inning to make the score 6-4, but the Tigers added two insurance runs in the seventh. Judware drew a bases loaded walk and Discepola followed with her third hit of the game to drive in two runs and give Salem International a 9-4 lead.
The Bears did not go away quietly in the bottom of the seventh. Holstein, the game two starter, retired the first two batters, but the next three Shaw batters reached base and scored a run to narrow the gap, 9-5, with the heart of the lineup due to the plate. Despite a two-RBI triple that brought the game-tying run to the plate, Holstein forced a pop-up near the plate to give the Tigers the series sweep.
Holstein (2-0) earned the win after allowing seven runs (six earned) on nine hits with four strikeouts, while tossing a complete game.
Discepola led the team at the plate and was one of five players with multiple hits. She finished with three hits (two doubles), three RBI and a run scored. Alexy, Chryssofos, Crew and Butler each tallied a pair of hits in the win.
After cancelling its doubleheader with Fayetteville State, Salem International will return to the field on Wednesday, March 4, when they visit the University of Charleston for a doubleheader. First-pitch of game one is scheduled for 2 p.m.
