SALEM, W.Va. (April 16) – A walk-off double by senior
Brittany Diss (Byesville, Ohio/Meadowbrook) gave the Tigers a 7-6 game two win and a sweep of Cedarville on Senior Day at Hope Field Saturday afternoon. The softball team rallied for a 7-6 win in game one to open play on Saturday.
The sweep improves Salem International University to 19-21 overall, 9-15 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC). Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets fall to 11-9 in league play, 20-24 overall this season.
The second game saw four lead changes, three ties and went into extra innings before the Tigers claimed the 7-6 win.
Salem International led 6-4 and was three outs away from sealing the deal in the seventh inning, but back-to-back Cedarville hits to lead off the inning and a one-out single tied the game and sent it into extra innings.
After the Yellow Jackets were retired in order in the eighth inning, sophomore centerfielder
Tori Butler (Hedgesville, W.Va./Musselman) drew a lead-off walk. The next batter, Diss, sent the ball over the left fielder's head and up against the fence to drive in Butler and give the Tigers a walk-off win and sweep on Senior Day.
Junior pitcher
Jordan Williams (Coconut Creek, Fla./Monarch) earned her first career win on the rubber. She tossed four innings of relief and limited Cedarville to three hits (two earned) on four hits with zero walks.
Salem International at the plate finished with 13 hits, including seven extra-base hits in game two. Freshman third baseman
Monika Garabedian (Weston, Fla./Cypress Bay) led the Tigers at the plate with three hits, including a double and a solo home run, two RBI and two runs scored in the win. Sophomore catcher
Hanna Crew (Canton, Ohio/Perry) also finished with three hits and an RBI, while freshman left fielder
Jordan Whitaker (Palmetto, Fla./Palmetto) chipped in two hits and two runs scored. Sophomore second baseman
Cass Alexy (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford) also added a two-RBI double in the first inning to help the Tigers to the win.
Senior right fielder
Katie Chryssofos (Chapmanville, W.Va./Logan) smacked her 15th home run this season in the win. She now holds the Salem International and G-MAC single-season home run records with 10 games still to play in the regular season.
In game one, Salem International trailed 6-2, rallied for five runs in the fifth inning to take the lead and stranded the bases loaded in the seventh to pick up a 7-6 win.
The Tigers jumped out to a 2-0 lead with runs in each of the first two innings, but a six-run fourth inning for Cedarville put the visitors out in front.
Salem International began its rally in the fifth inning by loading the bases with no outs. Whitaker came through with a two-RBI single and Alexy drove in another to pull the Tigers within one run. With two outs in the inning and the bases still loaded, Diss lined a ball towards the gap in left-center field that the Yellow Jacket centerfielder could not field cleanly, allowing two runs more runs to score and give Salem a 7-6 lead.
Cedarville did not go down easily in the seventh inning. The Yellow Jackets loaded the bases with one out, but a strikeout and a ground out to third base sealed the win for the Tigers.
Garabedian led the team at the dish in game one as well. She tallied two hits and a run scored, while Whitaker added a hit and two RBI. Crew, Alexy and Williams finished with the squad's other RBI in the win.
Sophomore pitcher
Kayla Lynch (Painesville, Ohio/Riverside) earned the win in relief. She improved to 11-10 this season by limiting Cedarville to two runs (one earned) on five hits with two strikeouts in 3.2 innings of relief.
The Yellow Jackets opened the series on Friday with wins by scores of 7-0 and 10-3.
Chryssofos led the team at the plate in the 10-3 loss. She had two hits, including her her then-14th home run of the season, while setting a new-G-MAC record in the process. Garabedian also chipped in two hits in the loss.
After five-consecutive G-MAC doubleheaders, the Tigers have Sunday off before heading to Bluefield State on Monday, April 18 for a non-conference showdown at 1 p.m.
