GWYNEDD VALLEY, Pa. – The Ursinus softball team used a pair of rallies to earn a doubleheader sweep over Gwynedd Mercy on Tuesday afternoon in non-conference action. Ursinus won game one 6-3 before taking game two by a score of 9-6 behind a ferocious seventh inning rally.
With the wins, the Bears improved to 7-2 overall as they played their first games since March 9th. Meanwhile, the Griffins of the Atlantic East Conference fell to 1-11 overall.
GAME ONE
The Griffins took the initial 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a two-out single with runners on first and second base. Ursinus tied the game at one in the top of the third inning after a slow first two innings when junior Allyson Meakim drove in senior Julia Eckels on a sacrifice fly. Eckels singled with one out and advanced two bases from a stolen base plus a single. Gwynedd Mercy quickly responded in the bottom half of the inning to take the lead back at 2-1 after leading off with a single and a triple. Ursinus worked their way out of the jam after inducing a fly out and Eckels throwing out the runner on third after tagging up. The Griffins put a pair of runners back on with walks before the Bears finally escaped the inning after forcing a fly out. Gwynedd Mercy looked to extend its lead in the bottom of the fourth when they loaded the bases with no outs. However, first-year Stephanie Wichman induced a double play that removed the lead runner and batter before getting a pop out to escape a jam once again.
Ursinus used momentum from allowing no runs with the bases loaded and no outs by scoring three runs on two hits and one error to go up 4-2 in the top of the fifth. First-year Danielle Monaco led off the inning with a single and advanced to second following a walk. Monaco came around to tie the game on a fielding error from the Griffins centerfielder. Wichman gave the Bears their first lead of the game in the subsequent at-bat with a sacrifice fly and sophomore Sam Williams capped the inning for the Bears with a two-out single to score the final run. After two quick outs to start the bottom of the fifth, the Griffins used a double, passed ball, and fielding error to score and cut the Bears lead to 4-3. Ursinus added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh on two hits and one error to go up 6-3. The Bears put runners on second and third base with no outs and Meakim drove in her second run of the day via a sacrifice fly to score the first run. Williams came through again two batters later with a single to right field to score the second run of the inning. The Griffins attempted one last rally by recording back-to-back singles with two outs, but Wichman closed the game by forcing a pop out.
GAME TWO
It was Gwynedd Mercy that once again took the initial lead as they scored three runs on two hits and one error in the bottom of the first inning. Ursinus had just one hit and two base runners in the first three innings of the game before finally getting on the board in the top of the fourth when junior Jordan Moore roped a single to center field with two outs to score pinch-runner Sarah Dunn. Gwynedd Mercy responded with three runs of their own in the bottom half of the fourth to go up 6-1, all of which came with two outs. The Griffins loaded the bases after scoring their first run of the inning and scored their next two runs off a single to left field, but a relay throw home from junior Amanda Panati forced a Griffin runner out at the plate, preventing further damage. Ursinus had back-to-back singles to open the top of the fifth and began their rally when senior Mackenzie Brennan ripped a double to left center to bring the score to 6-2. Meakim followed with a RBI from a groundout to shortstop and sophomore Maddie Solow brought in a third run on a single up the middle, cutting the deficit down to 6-4. Gwynedd Mercy loaded the bases once again in the bottom of the fifth with one out, but Wichman induced an inning ending double play after entering the game before the at-bat.
Down to their last three outs in the top of the seventh, the Bears put their first two runners on base and Solow delivered one at-bat later with a double to make it a 6-5 game. Sophomore Madison Wilson entered to pinch hit and delivered the biggest hit of the day with a single to left field that scored two runs while giving the Bears a 7-6 lead. Moore kept the rally going with an RBI single in the following at-bat before a fielding error gave Ursinus their final run to make it 9-6. The Griffins led off the bottom of the seventh with a double, but Wichman retired the next three batters to preserve the sweep for the Bears.
Wichman earned both wins on the day after combining to throw 7.2 innings of relief and allowing one unearned run on six hits, three walks, and one strike out. Eckels combined to go 4-of-6 from the plate between the two games and drove in two runs while scoring three. Meakim added three combined RBIs in the two games and Williams went 3-of-4 from the plate with two RBIs in game one. Moore led the Bears offense in game two by going 3-of-4 from the plate with two RBIs and Sollow went 2-of-4 from the dish with two RBIs and one run scored.
The Bears return to action on Thursday, March 24th as they will host Elizabethtown for its home-opening doubleheader starting at 3 p.m.