ITHACA, N.Y. – The Moravian College Greyhounds (36-4) defeated the Worcester State Lancers (26-19-1) 9-1 in five innings of play in the first round of the NCAA Division III Regional tournament, as the Greyhounds scored their nine on 11 hits and three Lancer errors.
The Greyhounds chalked the scoreboard first in the bottom of the 1st inning on an RBI double from Kat Spilman (Long Valley, N.J.), scoring Mary Schlosbon (Garnet Valley, Pa.) at the plate for the 1-0 advantage.
Moravian added three more runs to their total in the bottom of the 2nd on two hits and two Lancer errors. It looked as if the Lancers were going to get out of the inning quickly when a popup to the catcher resulted in a double play to start the inning. Though, two Lancer errors allotted two runners on base from where one scored on an RBI single from Schlosbon and two more runs crossed the plate on an RBI single to right-center from Kaela Kane (Drexel Hill, Pa.).
The Lancers reached the scoreboard in the top of the 3rd when Courtney Salisbury (Cranston, RI) registered her second hit of the game. Worcester's Hayley Terry (N. Dighton, Mass.) came up to bat next and reached on a fielder's choice, while Salisbury advanced to third on a Greyhound throwing error. Sydney Despres (Sterling, Mass.) plated the Lancers' sole run on an RBI single up the middle. Next up, Dakota Smith-Porter (Montague, Mass.) singled to third to load the bases, though, two strikeouts from Amanda Carison (Neshanic Station, NJ) and a foul out ended the inning with three runners stranded.
The Moravian Greyhounds kept their four run lead as they added another run in the bottom of the 3rd on an RBI single from Jean Markovic (Fountain Hill, Pa.).
The Greyhounds put two runners on base early in the 4th, from where they scored three runs on four hits to advance the score to 8-1 in their favor.
Smith-Porter started the 5th inning out with a single up the middle, though, the next batter hit into a double play to mark two outs on the board. Moravian's catcher, Janae Matos (Catasauqua, Pa.), made a stunning catch on a foul ball to the right side to retire the top of the inning.
The Greyhounds won the game in the bottom of the 5th when the Greyhounds loaded the bases and Schlosbon scored on a sacrifice fly from Spilman to plate the ninth and final run (eight run-rule).
Moravian's Schlosbon and Spilman both batted 3-for-3 with one and two RBI, respectively. Julie Siragusa (Cranford, N.J.) registered two hits, while Kane, Matos, and Markovic each logged one to total 11 for the Greyhounds.
In the circle for the Greyhounds, Carisone picked up her 17th win as she pitched five innings and only allowed one run (unearned) and struck out four in 24 batters faced.
For the Lancers, Salisbury batted 3-for-3 while Smith-Porter went 2-for-3. Four other Lancers marked hits to total nine for the team. Worcester's Meghan Rich (Chelmsford, Mass.) and Kayla Humphrey (Wallingford, Conn.) pitched or a combined 4.2 innings and allowed nine runs on 11 hits. Rich struck out one at the plate in her 3.1 inning appearance.
The Lancers will resume play tomorrow where they will face the loser of the next game (Ithaca College and Mount St. Mary's) with a 1:30 p.m. start time.
Tournament Central Webpage: http://athletics.ithaca.edu/sports/2016/5/10/2016-ncaa-softball-championship.aspx