Box Score Softball
Commonwealth Conference Tournament
#17 Lebanon Valley 4, Widener 2

READING, Pa. - #17 Lebanon Valley won its Commonwealth Conference tournament opener, advancing with a 4-2 win over Widener on Friday.

The Dutchmen (30-4) will Messiah on Saturday at 11 a.m. when the tournament's second day opens at Alvernia. That game will be for the right to play in Sunday's championship game, as LVC bids for its second title in a row.

Widener's Alexis Schengrund (10-6) and Devin Coyne combined to two-hit the Dutchmen, but Sam Derr improved to 20-1 with a five-hit, six-strikeout effort, and she helped herself at the plate with three RBI on a bases-loaded single in the third.

Stuck in a pitcher's duel over the opening two innings, LVC broke the game open in the third with a two-out rally. Consecutive walks by Mary Readinger, Tessa Deardorff, and Sammy Bost loaded the bases, and Derr's rip up the middle scored all three.

LVC added an insurance run in the fifth, again with two outs; with Readinger on second, Derr reached on an error at first, allowing Readinger to score for a 4-0 lead. Widener struck back in the top of the sixth with back-to-back RBI base hits by Heather Forward and Alie Alkins, but Derr shut down the Pride the rest of the way to earn the win.

Katie Deardorff had LVC's other hit in the game, taking her career total to 167; she is now three away from the program record.