Steph Zengel, Gettysburg
Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Gettysburg won the opener 4-3 on a walk-off single from freshman Stephanie Leonardo (East Haddam, Conn./Choate Rosemary Hall), then captured the nightcap 2-0 behind a two-hit shutout from classmate Aileen Reilly (Huntington Station, N.Y./St. Anthony's) as the Bullets swept Franklin & Marshall College in a Centennial Conference softball doubleheader Tuesday afternoon at Bobby Jones Field.
With the wins, the Bullets (25-5, 10-2 CC) remained a close second in the Centennial Conference standings behind McDaniel College (9-1 CC), who Gettysburg will face on Saturday.
Reilly (13-1) was the beneficiary of an outstanding defensive play in the top of the seventh, when junior Steph Zengel (High Bridge, N.J./North Hunterdon) made a diving catch on a blooper into rightfield. Zengel would then throw to first to pick off the runner heading back into the bag for a double play, and Reilly struck out the final batter to end the game and finish with a season-high 10 K's.
Gettysburg fell behind 2-0 in the top of the first in the opener before scoring single runs in the first and third. Zengel tied it at 2-2 with an RBI-double in the third.
The Bullets went ahead in the fifth when Leonardo blasted a double into the left-center gap before eventually scoring on a wild pitch. But the Diplomats tied it with an unearned run in the sixth, taking advantage of two walks and an error. However, Gettysburg starter Lindsey Treanor (Holtsville, N.Y./Sachem East) stranded a runner on second, then worked out of another jam in the seventh, leaving runners on the corners.
Junior Meghan Hisgen (East Northport, N.Y./Commack) got things started in the bottom of the inning when she flared a single down the rightfield line. After senior Ashley Iannone (Great Meadows, N.J./Blair Academy) was hit with a pitch, Leonardo ripped a single up the middle that allowed Hisgen to score from second with the winning run.
Hisgen and Leonardo each went 2-for-3 in the opener while senior Melissa Tighe (Little Falls, N.J./Mt. St. Dominic Academy) scored two runs. Treanor (11-4) worked a complete-game victory, scattering five hits and striking out four.
Isabel Schaefer suffered the loss for the Diplomats while striking out seven.
The Bullets wasted little time supplying Reilly with all the run support should would need. In the bottom of the first, sophomore Jamie Abell (Glenn Dale, Md./Elizabeth Seton) blasted a triple to center and scored one batter later on a sacrifice fly from Zengel. Gettysburg added an insurance run in the fifth, scoring when Leonardo reached on an error leading off before scoring on a sacrifice fly from Abell.
In the meantime, Reilly was cruising in the circle, allowing just two Diplomats to reach scoring position. Senior catcher Emily Hall (Reston, Va./Flint Hil School) provided a big defensive play in the first, throwing out a runner attempting to steal third after a walk and a single. A runner moved up to second on the play, but Reilly induced a pop-out to end the inning. She also left a runner on second in the fourth after a two-out double, and she would fan the side in the sixth before Samantha Burns drew a lead-off walk in the seventh, setting up Zengel's heroics.
Schaeffer (7-7) started again for F&M and threw five innings, allowing both Gettysburg runs.
The Bullets host McDaniel on Saturday back at Bobby Jones Field starting at 1 p.m.