LANCASTER, Pa.- The Juniata softball team split their season-opening series at Franklin & Marshall, winning 5-2 in nine innings before they lost 15-5 in the second game of the day.
Maya McLeod (San Diego, Calif. / La Jolla Country Day) scored on an RBI-single by Catherine Miller (Huntingdon, Pa. / Huntingdon Area) to put the Eagles ahead in the first inning.
Cate Baran (Tyrone, Pa. / Tyrone Area) carved through the Diplomat lineup through the first five innings as she totaled eight strikeouts. F&M managed to break through on a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth as JC trailed by one.
McLeod led off the seventh for the Eagles with a double, and two batters later, Alison Superka (Orefield, Pa. / Parkland) drove her in with a single to send the game into extra innings.
Juniata threatened in the eighth, with Emily Eutsey (Mount Pleasant, Pa. / Southmoreland) getting thrown out at the plate for the second out, but Reagan Goldsmith (Middletown, Del. / Middletown) struck out to end the JC threat.
Baran went 1-2-3 in the bottom half of the inning. Goldsmith started at second to start the ninth, and McLeod sent her to third with a single. Both runners advanced on a passed ball, with Goldsmith crossing home plate to put the Eagles up by one. Miller's infield single scored McLeod, and Katie Mace (Dornsife, Pa. / Line Mountain) later scored on a Eutsey sacrifice fly to center to make it 5-2.
Baran walked one batter but retired the rest to cement her nine-inning complete-game win.
Game two started well for the Eagles as Baran got hit by a pitch and stole second. Goldsmith scored her on an RBI double, McLeod followed with an RBI triple, and Miller drove in Mcleod while grounding out to third.
The Diplomats responded with three runs in the bottom half of the inning to knot things at three. They added two more runs in the second to take the lead.
McLeod got one back for JC with an RBI single, scoring Baran, and Caleigh Love (Yardley, Pa. / Pennsbury) scored in the top of the fourth to tie the score back at five.
The Diplomats scored three runs in the bottom half of the fourth and exploded for seven in the fifth, including a game-ending grand slam to end things at 15-5.
Juniata will take on Pfeiffer to begin their spring break games on Friday at 12:30.
