Coming off a very successful 7-1 road trip in Orlando just a week ago, the Lions split a hard fought doubleheader on Saturday in Bethlehem, Pa. against the Greyhounds of Moravian College.
Both games ended in a 1-0 score, with the Greyhounds squeaking by in the first contest, while the Lions edged out their opponents in the second.
“We played very well and it’s great to be performing so well this early on against such a solid and talented team,” senior pitcher Ashley Minervini said.
In game one, the lone run was scored in the bottom of the seventh and final inning, as freshman infielder Amanda Dizinno cracked a home run to seal it for the home team.
“The pitch was working on them all game and I didn’t think twice about throwing it,” Minervini said. “After, I just tried not getting too upset.”
Up to that point, it was indeed all about the pitching, as Minervini of the Lions dueled with sophomore Jenna Carmon pitch-for-pitch. Minervini allowed just one run on four hits in her fifth complete game of the season, while Carmon only gave up two hits.
“They both were pretty effective since both teams were scoreless until the seventh inning,” sophomore outfielder Rebecca Florczyk said, who has a pair of hits in game one. “Ashley did a great job, but unfortunately one of their girls got a hold of a great pitch and it cost us the game. It happens.”
More of the same occurred in the second game. Sophomore pitcher Lauren Fitzsimmons improved her perfect 4-0 record on the year by allowing just four hits and fanning five.
This time, however, the Lions pulled out the win on a botched fielding play by the Greyhounds in the fourth. This allowed rookie infielder Ashley Sogluizzo, who had singled earlier in the inning, to score the lone run.
“Well, even though we weren’t really hitting the ball to gain any runs, I was willing to take whatever we could get,” Florczyk said. “Sometimes that means taking advantage of the other team’s errors.”
With the split in the double dip, the Lions are now 8-2 overall, while Moravian College sits at 7-5. Such a hot start is exactly how the team envisioned things.
“Having left Florida 7-1 this year, we’re expecting a lot more out of ourselves because we proved to other teams early on that we are certainly good enough to compete against them and win against them,” Florczyk said.
Looking to continue the hot streak, the Lions will have their first home contests of the season when they host a doubleheader on Thursday at 3 p.m. against the Falcons of Messiah College.
