Defiance Improves to 5-1 on the Season With Wins Over Penn St.-NK and Alfred
KISSIMMEE, Fla – The Defiance College softball team put on dominating performances this afternoon in the Sunkissed Games tournament, recording wins against Penn State-New Kensington and Alfred University in Kissimmee, Florida.
In game one, Defiance (5-1) put in the work defensively, blanking the Nittany Lions 10-0 in five innings. With runners on the corners in inning one, Sarah Kaya made PSNK chase up high, logging her first of nine strikeouts on the day.
DC continued to make quick work of the Blue and White in innings two and three, sending seven back to the Penn State-NK dugout with only one hit to show for their efforts.
On the offensive side, the Yellow Jackets took care of business as well, accumulating four runs in the second inning alone. Arianna Richards kick-started the sprint, capitalizing on an infield error to bring home Jackie Hartman and give the Yellow Jackets the 1-0 advantage. Haley Patty followed her with a single to the 5-6 gap, pushing Richards to second which brought Jordan Osborne to the plate. Osborne would go on to drop a double in left center, advancing Richards and Patty. A Kaity Kuhn RBI single wrapped up the scoring in the inning as Osborne reached home to extend the DC lead to 4-0.
After a scoreless third inning, Defiance came back to life in the fourth with six runs from Osborne, Kuhn, Gostomsky, Jessica Mello, Emma Perry and Libby Leach to finish the contest 10-0.
Game two was a more evenly matched battle for the Yellow Jackets but they would ultimately outlast Alfred University, 6-2.
The Eagles were first on the board, driving home a run early in the first inning. The Purple and Gold responded with a pair of runs in the second as Mariah Huff sent a shot down the left field line to take two bases. Huff would be brought home on an RBI single from Hartman who would also touch home on a single from Richards.
Alfred was swift to equalize in the following inning but would fall quiet for the remainder of the game, recording just two more hits off of Sydney Zeuch and the Yellow Jacket defense. Sensing the sluggishness of AU's bats, Michaela Bauer drove home a third run, laying down a sacrifice bunt for Emma Perry. DC's momentum carried over into the fifth inning, gaining more traction with another pair of runs from Kuhn and Huff. Huff capped the game with an insurance homerun, sealing the contest 6-2.
Defiance will pick back up with their spring break schedule on Thursday, March 8 as they take on Montclair St. University at 9:00 AM and Penn State University-Berks immediately following at 11:15 AM.