Presidents' Softball Opens Season With Split At Sea Gull Classic
SALISBURY, Md. -- The Washington & Jefferson softball team split a pair of games during its 2013 season openers at the Salisbury Sea Gull Classic. The Presidents began the day with a 10-1 rout (5 innings) of Scranton, but 18th-ranked and undefeated Salisbury (10-0) forced a W&J split by winning 9-0 (5 innings) later in the afternoon.
The Presidents' victory over Scranton marked W&J's first in a season opener since 2006. W&J took advantage of 14 walks issued by Scranton pitcher Jamie Hampsey and scored 10 runs for the first time since Mar. 21, 2011 (10-1 victory over Kalamazoo in Clermont, Fla.).
The first run of the season came in the top of the first inning when junior shortstop Kelsey Cunningham (McMurray, Pa./Peters Township) drew a leadoff walk, stole second base and scored on a wild pitch.
The Presidents made it a 4-0 lead in the second without recording a base hit and junior Madison Rotto's (Sarver, Pa./Freeport) RBI double in the fourth made it a 6-1 game. Rotto smacked a three-run homer in the fifth inning to cap the scoring.
Rotto had two of the Presidents' five hits and drove in four. Cunningham and freshman pitcher Emily Watson (Harmony, Pa./Seneca Valley) both scored a pair of runs. Watson drew four walks at the plate and earned the win in the circle after limiting the Royals to one run on five hits, while striking out four.
Senior second baseman Stephanie Zur (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) and sophomore third baseman Sadie Marak (Butler, Pa./Butler) both had two hits in the loss to the Sea Gulls. Marak had a double, the team's lone extra base hit. Rotto suffered the loss after allowing eight runs (six earned) on nine hits in 2 1/3 innings.
Kathryn Larson scattered five hits and struck out five to earn the win for Salisbury. Ten different Sea Gulls recorded a base hit as the tournament hosts scored twice in the first, three times in the second and four more in the third.
W&J completes play at the Salisbury Tournament tomorrow with games against Frostburg State (noon) and Virginia Wesleyan (2:00 pm).
