LATHAM, N.Y. - The first day of the United East Softball Championship began on Friday with a double-elimination tournament in the Skye and Volt Division.
In game one of the Skye Division, No. 1 Wilson College defeated No. 5 Clarks Summit University, 9-0. No. 2 Rosemont College followed that with a dominating performance upending No. 3 Notre Dame of MD, 8-1. Our top seeds Wilson and Rosemont faced off for game three as Rosemont pulled off an electrifying performance winning, 14-5. To close out the day in the Skye Division Notre Dame of Maryland held off Clarks Summit, 5-4, to keep their championship pursuit alive.
Over in the Volt Division, No. 1 Penn State Harrisburg held off No. 4 Penn State Abington. No. 2 Penn College took the field for game two against No. 4 Penn State Berks claiming victory, 4-0. Our top seeds Penn State Harrisburg and Penn College faced off for game three where Penn College ended their day on a winning note, 7-4. For the last match-up of the day, Penn State Abington defeated Penn State Berks, 6-4, to advance to day two of the tournament.
Wilson and Notre Dame of MD (Skye), and Penn State Harrisburg and Penn State Abington (Volt) will face off tomorrow at 9 am to keep their playoff run alive. Rosemont will await the winner of the 9 am Skye division game and Penn College will face the winner of the 9 am Volt division game at 11 am. Game 7 for each division will be played upon the conclusion of our 11 am games if necessary.
SKYE DIVISION
GAME 1: Wilson def. Clarks Summit, 9-0
Four Wilson batters racked up at least 1 RBI in their dominant performance as Madison Briggs and Haley Pivot leading the way with two each. After putting up one run in the opening inning, Wilson put up multiple runs in the next three innings extending their lead to 9-0 after four. Six Pheonix players contributed at least one hit through the course of the game.
Riley Piper picked up her 15th win of the season on the mound registering four strikeouts through five innings.
GAME 2: Rosemont def. Notre Dame of MD, 8-1
Graduate student, Lauren Begg got things started for Rosemont registering the lone run in the bottom of the first inning off an Emily Bingman RBI. Rosemont then poured on three runs in both the second and third innings extending their lead to 7-1. Notre Dame got in the action registering their lone run for the game from a sac fly by Bethany Newbold.
Kendyll Strohl led the way for Rosemont going 3-3 at the plate and recording two RBIs throughout the game. Shona Willoughby also added two RBIs in the impressive Ravens performance.
GAME 3: Rosemont def. Wilson, 14-5
Rosemont’s bats remained hot for game three dominating the number one seed, Wilson College. After finding themselves down 5-3 after the fourth frame, the Ravens poured it on in the top of the seventh registering 7 runs, taking the lead, 10-3.
Nine Ravens recorded at least one hit in the pursuit of victory. Lauren Begg led the Ravens with four hits and two runs while Kylee Kubitschek and Shona Willoughby recorded three hits. Additionally, eight Ravens recorded an RBI.
GAME 4: Notre Dame of MD def. Clarks Summit, 6-4
Clarks Summit jumped out to an early 2-1 lead thanks to an RBI triple from Haley Bragg. Madison Attinks followed that up with an RBI single of her own, scoring the second run of the top of the first inning. For the Gators, Jess Leathwood singled up the middle bringing in a run to cut the lead in half. Notre Dame of MD put up a strong third inning as they took a 5-4 lead and didn’t trail for the remainder of the contest.
The Gators were led by Juliana Leatherwood, Jessie Leatherwood, and Charlene Torres who all recorded two hits and one RBI. Two additional gators recorded an RBI to help secure the win. Julianna Leatherwood collected the win on the bump, striking out four batters through four innings. Malorie Gogel recorded a save as she took over in the last three innings.
VOLT DIVISION
GAME 1: Penn State Harrisburg def. Penn State Abington, 2-1 (11 inn.)
In the first contest of the day, both teams battled until the end. In the defensive-dominated game, Mackenzie Sawdey remained steady picking up her 18th win of the season, striking out eight batters. Sawdey only allowed three hits giving up one run, propelling her team to victory.
In the top of the eighth inning, Emily Foxhill singled down the left field line giving Penn State Abington the 1-0 lead. That was short-lived as Laurenn Hess retaliated with a single of her own down the left field line bringing in one runner, noting the contest back up 1-1. Aspen Walker served as the hero of Penn State Harrisburg with an RBI walk-off single down the left-field line. For Harrisburg, seven batters recorded at least one hit with Madelyn Lehigh recording two.
GAME 2: Penn College def. Penn State Berks, 4-0
The sophomore, Lexi Synder got things going for Penn College with an RBI triple bringing in the first. Mackenzie Weaver followed that up with an RBI double of her own giving the Wildcats a 2-0 edge after one. Synder added another RBI in the bottom of the fifth to record the final run for the Wildcats, giving them a 5-0 cushion. Lexi Synder, Mackenzie Weaver, and Maidson Shaffer all went 2-3 for the game, while Grace Lorson also added an RBI in her only hit of the game.
Weaver also owned the mound pitching a full game and recording six strikeouts while only allowing two hits.
GAME 3: Penn College def. Penn State Harrisburg, 7-4
The No. 2 seed Penn College came out hot in the first inning against the host, putting up 3 runs. Margaret Mangene recorded an RBI double to start things off. Lexi Synder and Mackenize Weaver followed that with respective RBIs of their own to give the Wildcats a 3-0 jump ahead of Harrisburg. For Harrisburg, Aspen Walker singled in the bottom of the first registering one of her two RBIs of the contest, cutting the lead to 3-1 after one. The Wildcats owned the fourth and sixth innings, knocking in two runs in each giving them a 7-2 lead. Harrisburg made an effort to storm back in the seventh inning as Kierstyn Smith and Emma Einarson brought in runners with RBI singles of their own.
For the Wildcats, the top four of the order dominated the match-up recording all seven hits. Mangene was responsible for three of the seven hits and four RBIs. The other three Wildcats recorded two hits a piece.
GAME 4: Penn State Abington def. Penn State Berks, 6-4
Penn State Abington kept championship hopes alive with an electric performance in the first two innings to give them a 4-0 lead over Berks. In the second inning, Abington drove in four runs started by a Marlena Hakcer RBI triple. In the bottom of the seventh, Ziegler rallied Beks with a two-RBI double. Burkey also added an RBI single bringing Berks within two runs before Abington sealed up the game with a final of 6-4.
For Abington, four players recorded hits led by Marlena Hacker with 3 hits, going 3-4 from the plate in the contest. Hailey Gamble and Ava Lingston also added two hits each for Berks. Gretchen Yanss captured two RBIs for berks as they were able to secure a win to move on to day two of the tournament.
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The United East boasts 17 NCAA Division III full member institutions which include: Bryn Athyn College, Cairn University, Cedar Crest College, Clarks Summit University, Gallaudet University, Keystone College, Lancaster Bible College, Notre Dame of Maryland University, Penn College, Penn State Abington, Penn State Berks, Penn State Harrisburg, Rosemont College, Saint Elizabeth University, St. Mary's College of Maryland, University of Valley Forge, and Wilson College. For more information, please visit gounitedeast.com.