Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Softball
#12 Lebanon Valley 1, #25 Kean 0
#25 Kean 6, #12 Lebanon Valley 3

ANNVILLE, Pa. - #12 Lebanon Valley battled #25 Kean to a double split on Thursday, walking off with a 1-0 game-one win thanks to Angela Harris before falling 6-3.

Sam Derr and Courtney Yard dueled through six and a half scoreless innings in the opener before LVC punched through in the seventh, but the offenses came around in the nightcap with the two teams combining for 20 hits. Sammy Bost led the Dutchmen with a 3-for-4 effort with two runs scored in game two.

It was LVC's first encounter with another ranked team this season. The Dutchmen are now 19-2 this spring; Kean is 22-5.

Game One
Harris' walk-off provided the game's only run as LVC prevailed in a pitcher's duel to start the series. Katie Deardorff started the two-out rally with a heads-up play, reaching on a bunt in front of home plate and immediately wheeling around to second while catching the defense sleeping. That brought up Harris, who hit a roller to short that was misplayed by Kelly Moorehead, and Deardorff scored easily from second to win it.

The play ended an engaging battle between Derr (11-0) and Yard (11-4), who each allowed only four hits. Yard whiffed eight to Derr's seven, but Derr threw an efficient 88 pitches with no walks to pick up her fifth consecutive shutout start. 

Kean advanced just one runner to scoring position, in the second, while LVC left runners on third twice and three in scoring position overall. The best chance for the Valley had been in the third; with Mary Readinger on third after a one-out triple and Tessa Deardorff on second, Bost reached on a fielder's choice when Kean elected to get Readinger at the plate.

Game Two
Both teams' bats woke up in game two, pounding a combined 20 hits, but Kean used a big third inning to take control and win 6-3.

LVC went on top in the first, using smart baserunning to plate the first run. With Bost on third and Allie Hartman on first with two outs, Hartman broke for second and got caught in a rundown, allowing the speedy freshman to score easily before getting tagged out.

Kean broke it open in the third, manufacturing four runs with two outs. Sandra Binkiewicz drove in the first run on an unlucky fielding play by starter Haley Neff, who saw the line drive go off the tip of her glove and squirt into right field to allow Jill Martin to score from second. Yard's double to right center drove in Bienkiewicz, and after Derr replaced Neff, two more runs came across on a wild pitch and Emily Bissonnette's RBI single to make it 4-1.

LVC loaded the bases in the bottom half but managed just one run on Jordyn Miller's sacrifice fly, and Kean tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the fourth with RBIs by Binkiewicz and Yard to snap Derr's team-record scoreless innings streak at 37.

Hartman tried to chip away at the lead with a fifth-inning double to plate Bost, but Yard - who had replaced starter Rebecca Rotola in the third - shut LVC down the rest of the way to pick up the win.

Neff (7-2) threw 2.2 innings and was responsible for four runs in the loss; Derr allowed two in 4.1 innings of relief.

Next Time
LVC heads to Hood on Sunday.