Game One
Lebanon Valley 9, Widener 8 (14 innings)
LVC Lineup
1. Kaufman (3B) 2. Hunyara (SS) 3. Craig (1B) 4. Truitt (LF) 5. McCurdy (CF) 6. Balthaser (RF) 7. Burns (DP) 8. D'Angelo (2B) 9. Holmes (C), Musselman (P)
Widener Lineup
1. Lawrence (RF) 2. Johnson (CF) 3. Benozich (SS) 4. Cooper (3B) 5. Calciano (DP) 6. Tiley (C) 7. Walker (LF), 8. DiMario (2B) 9. Kaczmarczyk (1B), Sieminski (P)
ANNVILLE, Pa. – The Lebanon Valley softball team celebrated Senior Day with a sweep of Widener in two very different fashions. The Dutchmen won the opener in 14 innings 9-8, one of the longest games in school history, and then followed that up with a 7-2 comfortable win in the nightcap. The Dutchmen improved to 13-11 following the two victories while Widener dropped to 12-16.
The first game didn't start ideally for the Dutchmen as Widener took advantage of an LVC error to plate two runs and jump out to an early lead. The score would remain 2-0 into the fourth inning where Widener would add to their lead on a Jalia Lawrence RBI-single to give the Pride a 3-0 lead. LVC would answer in the bottom of the frame when
Sam Burns singled to center to bring home
Lindsey McCurdy and
Jessica Truitt pulling the Dutchmen within one at 3-2.
The Pride would add to their lead in the fifth, once again taking advantage of a Dutchmen error. Widener would score the first run of the inning on a fielder's choice before Bella Walker would triple to right field to plate a pair and LVC now found themselves down 6-2. A double by Truitt would bring home a run in the bottom of the fifth to pull LVC within three.
In the bottom of the sixth, LVC would begin to mount their comeback starting with a leadoff homer by
Kylie Balthaser to bring the Dutchmen to within a pair. After a pair of groundouts,
Julia Forsythe would launch a pinch-hit homer over the left-field wall and LVC was down just one headed to the seventh. In the seventh,
Tori Hunyara led off the inning with a double to center field and would later advance on a groundout. Truitt would pick up one of the more bizarre sacrifice flies when she popped up to shortstop just behind second base and Hunyara would tag up and score to tie the game and send the contest to extras.
Extra innings would go scoreless through the first three innings and the two teams remained deadlocked into the 11th. Carli Benozich would single through the left side of the infield to bring home the go-ahead run. The Dutchmen wouldn't go away as they would tie the game back up off a single by
Julia Craig. The teams would repeat the exercise in the 12th with both sides scoring once to send the game to inning number 13. Both teams went 1-2-3 in the 13th and the game now reached the 14th tied 8-8. After a scoreless frame for the Pride, the Dutchmen would take their first and only lead in the game when Hunyara would score off an error with two outs by Widener to give LVC the 9-8 game-one win.
Inside The Numbers
- Sarah Musselman threw one of the more impressive games in recent LVC history. She threw all 14 innings, totaling 185 pitches, while allowing just four earned runs and striking out a career-high 13 batters.
- Musselman's performance of a 14-inning complete game set the program record for most innings pitched in a complete game.
- Widener's Jennifer Sieminski was impressive in her own right tossing 12 innings allowing five earned runs.
- Tori Hunyara and Kylie Balthaser led LVC with three hits each.
- Kylie Balthaser hit her first career homer in the fifth followed shortly by Julia Forsythe's first of the season and second of her career.
- Carli Benozich led the Pride with three hits and two runs scored.
Game Two
Lebanon Valley 7, Widener 2
LVC Lineup
1. Kaufman (LF) 2. Hunyara (SS) 3. Craig (1B) 4. Truitt (LF) 5. Forsythe (C) 6. Balthaser (RF) 7. Burns (2B) 8. Hockman (3B) 9. Musselman (CF), Sinatra (P)
Widener Lineup
1. Lawrence (CF) 2. Johnson (LF) 3. Benozich (SS) 4. Cooper (3B) 5. Calciano (DP) 6. Walker (RF) 7. Tiley (C) 8. DiMario (2B) 9. Kaczmarczyk (1B), Jaworski (P)
It was the Dutchmen scoring a pair of first inning runs in game two with RBI-hits by
Tori Hunyara and
Julia Craig to grab the early 2-0 lead. Widener would get a run back in the top of the third on a groundout to cut the LVC lead in half.
The Dutchmen would push their lead up to three in the bottom of the fourth with RBI-singles to center by both
Anna Marie Hockman and Hunyara. A
Sam Burns single in the fifth would extend the advantage to 5-1 after five innings.
After Widener scored a run in the sixth, a Hunyara RBI-triple and a Craig RBI-double would balloon the Dutchmen lead to 7-2.
Erin Sinatra, who was sharp all game long, would close the door on Widener en route to picking up the 7-2 victory to complete the doubleheader sweep.
Inside The Numbers
- Tori Hunyara went 4-for-4 with three RBI, two runs scored, and was just a home run shy of the cycle.
- Julia Craig also had a nice day at the plate with two hits and two RBI. Jen Kaufman, Julia Forsythe and Sam Burns also add multi-hit performances.
- Erin Sinatra was strong in the circle tossing a complete-game while allowing just one earned run and striking out five.
- Hunyara's triple brings her season total to six, tying former All-American Sammy Bost's program record for a single season.
Who's Next?
The Dutchmen return to LVC Softball Park tomorrow when they host York College (Pa.) in a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.
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