CLERMONT, Fla. (March 7) – The Tigers picked up a pair of wins at the NTC Spring Games this past weekend. The Salem International University softball team defeated Cleary and Pitt-Johnstown, while Gannon, St. Cloud State and No. 24 West Chester all dealt the Tigers losses.
 
Salem International improved to 6-4 overall this season, the best start to a season since 2012 when that team also started the year with six wins in its first 10 games.
 
GAME 1: Salem International 2, Cleary (Mich.) 0 (Final/8 innings)
Following seven scoreless innings by both teams, the Tigers plated two runs in the eighth to kick-off their Florida trip with a 2-0 win.
 
Senior Katie Chryssofos (Chapmanville, W.Va./Logan) drove in the game-winning run with a double and freshman Monika Garabedian (Weston, Fla./Cypress Bay) followed with a RBI hit to add an insurance marker.
 
Sophomore Kayla Lynch (Painesville, Ohio/Riverside) earned her fourth win of the season, matching her win total from last season. She tossed a complete-game shutout, while allowing six hits with five strikeouts and zero walks issued.
 
GAME 2: Gannon (Pa.) 5, Salem International 1
The Golden Knights scored five-unanswered runs to open the game in Salem International's 5-1 loss on Friday.
 
The Tigers scattered six hits in the game, with the lone run coming on a home run by freshman Kaleigh Decker (West Palm Beach, Fla./Palm Beach Central), her first-career at Salem International.
 
Sophomore Katie Holestin (Covington, Va./Allegheny) took the loss. She allowed five runs of seven hits with three strikeouts over six innings of work.
 
GAME 3: St. Cloud State (Minn.) 5, Salem International 4
The Tigers rallied in the seventh inning to take the lead, but the Huskies matched the runs in the bottom half to claim a 5-4 walk off win on Friday.
 
St. Cloud State took a 3-2 lead into the final frame, but a two-out, two-RBI single by Chryssofos gave Salem International the lead. The Huskies returned the favor in the bottom of the inning with two runs on a double to walk-off with a 5-4 victory.
 
Decker and sophomore Tori Butler (Hedgesville, W.Va./Musselman) each finished with two hits, while Butler added a RBI and a run scored. Sophomore Hanna Crew (Canton, Ohio/Perry) added the other RBI on a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning.
 
Lynch was charged with her first loss of the season. She allowed five runs (four earned) on eight hits with five strikeouts over 6.1 innings in the circle.
 
GAME 4: Salem International 4, Pitt.-Johnstown 3
A run on a passed ball in the sixth inning proved to be the difference, as the Tigers claimed a 4-3 win over Pitt.-Johnstown on Sunday night.
 
Salem International scored runs in the second, fourth, fifth and sixth innings and held off a late rally by the Mountain Cats. The Tigers led 4-0 entering the bottom of the sixth when Pitt.-Johnstown loaded the bases with no outs. A RBI ground out and a pair of singles brought the Mountain Cats within one run, but Lynch remained composed in the circle and got the final two outs to strand the bases loaded. She went on to retire Pitt.-Johnstown in order to give the Tigers their sixth win of the season.
 
Lynch (5-1) earned the win after limiting the Mountain Cats to three runs (two earned) on six hits with four strikeouts in a complete-game effort.
 
Crew finished the game with two hits and a RBI, while Garabedian and Decker tallied the other two RBI in the win. Chryssofos connected for two hits, including a double, and added a run scored.
 
GAME 5: #24 West Chester (Pa.) 13, Salem International 0 (Final/5 innings)
The Tigers were dealt a 13-0 loss by No. 24 West Chester to wrap-up play in Clermont, Florida Sunday night.
 
The Golden Rams, ranked No. 24 in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll, improved to 14-0 this season by scoring multiple runs in four of the five innings played.
 
Salem International was limited to three hits in the loss, with Butler, Crew and freshman Jordan Whitaker (Palmetto, Fla./Palmetto) collecting the base knocks.
 
Holestin (1-3) took the loss after allowing seven runs (six earned) on six hits with two strikeouts over three innings of work.
 
The Tigers return to the diamond on Saturday, March 12 when they head to Salem, Virginia to play four games over two days at the Moyer Sports Complex.