LEESBURG, Florida - After a recovery day off, the Salem softball team was back in action today, and they had a grueling tripleheader on the docket against St. Thomas Aquinas, Slippery Rock, and the University of Mary. Salem earned their first win of the trip in the first contest, but were defeated in games 2 and 3. All three contests played out as follows:
Salem 4, St. Thomas Aquinas 2
In Game 1, Salem opened up the scoring in the first when Annabella Gonzalez hit a sacrifice fly to left field that allowed Elaina Esteban to score. St. Thomas Aquinas responded with 2 runs of their own in the bottom of the 1st. Salem took control of the game back in the final three innings. In the 5th, Elaina Esteban hit Salem's second sacrifice fly of the day to score Victoria Castro. In the 6th, Ricki Garay added an RBI single to bring around Alyvia Pittman. Salem added one more insurance run in the 7th when a St. Thomas Aquinas' throwing error allowed Sierra Chapa to score for the final run of the ball game. In the circle, Meesha Arroyo went the distance for the Tigers, and struck out 5 batters in the contest.
Slippery Rock 6, Salem 5
For Game 2, Salem had the toughest game on their hands of the day. Slippery Rock controlled the contest after the 4th inning when they added two runs. Salem added a run in response with a Jazmyn Moetului RBI single in the 6th. After Slippery Rock took control back in the 6th, Salem mounted a furious comeback in the 7th. It started with Syriah Trujillo scoring on an Elaina Esteban groundout. Right after that, Meesha Arroyo doubled to bring around Sierra Chapa. Jazmyn Moetului then smacked an RBI triple to score Arroyo, but was thrown out as she tried to extend the hit into a home run. That would be the final out of the game, and Salem fell 6-5 to Slippery Rock.Â
Mary 8, Salem 0
For Game 3, Salem had a rare chance to face off with the University of Mary, based out of North Dakota. However, the Tigers had a tough time offensively, and Mary quickly jumped out to an early lead. Salem could not mount a comeback, and they fell 8-0 at 5 innings.Â
Salem Softball will be back in action tomorrow against Saint Michael's and D'Youville for a pair of contests beginning at 10 AM in Leesburg, Florida.
