Home Runs Power Presidents During Sweep Of Grove City
WASHINGTON, Pa. – Sophomore pitcher Madison Rotto (Sarver, Pa./Freeport) and freshmen left fielder Breanna Gleason (Baden, Pa./Ambridge) and third baseman Sadie Marak (Butler, Pa./Butler) all blasted home runs to help Washington & Jefferson sweep a PAC softball doubleheader from Grove City Tuesday at Brooks Park.
W&J (11-13, 5-3 PAC) came from behind to win both games, claiming game one by a 4-3 count and then the nightcap 7-5.
Grove City (13-15, 2-6 PAC) staked claim to a 3-0 lead in the second inning of the first game when Allison Rayburn launched a three-run homer.
Marak hit a solo home run for Washington & Jefferson in the bottom of the second to bring the lead down to 3-1.
Marak then made the score 3-2 in the fifth after drawing a leadoff walk and scoring on freshman catcher Susan Lessman’s (Dalton, Ohio/Dalton) sacrifice fly. Two batters later, Gleason smacked the eventual game-winning home run to left center field.
Rotto pitched all seven innings and struck out eight Wolverines to up her season record to 7-4. Lauren Clarke suffered the loss for the Wolverines after allowing six hits and two walks.
Grove City led 5-2 after three innings in game two, but the Presidents scored five times in the sixth to earn the win. Trailing 5-4 with two outs, Rotto delivered a towering, three-run homer to left field for the go-ahead runs.
Junior Erin Shuman (Chester, W.Va./Oak Glen) pitched five shutout innings (three hits allowed) in relief to collect her first victory of the season on the mound. Marak and junior second baseman Stephanie Zur (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) both had two hits to pace the Presidents’ lineup in the nightcap.
The Presidents travel to Latrobe, Pa., on Saturday for a 1:00 pm league twinbill with PAC-leading Saint Vincent.
