Photo: Megan White
Saturday, April 7, the Elizabethtown College softball team lost both games in a doubleheader at home against Landmark Conference opponent Catholic University of America.
Junior Emma Varrato got the Blue Jays off to a strong start in the first inning, hitting her fifth homerun of the season. This sent graduate student Kirstin Blass home from second base, putting the Jays up 2-0 on the Cardinals.
Catholic came back at the top of the second inning and matched Etown’s two runs to tie the score at two. The second inning was scoreless for the Jays, and Catholic came back with two more runs in the third. Catholic sophomore Marissa Deblasie had a two-run homer to double the Cardinals’ lead on the Jays.
Catholic first-year McKenzie Plante scored another run in the fifth, and senior Megan Colline finished off the win for the Cardinals with a homerun in the seventh inning, ending the game with a final score of 6-2.
Blass finished the game with two hits and one run. Varrato had one hit, one run and two RBIs. First-years Kaitlyn Witmer and Brinley Schmidt and junior Christina Dark each had one hit for the Jays.
Catholic dominated the beginning of the second game, going up 3-0 on the Jays in the third inning with a homerun and 3 RBIs from first-year Makayla Czan. They had another big inning in the 6th, adding four more runs to their total.
With the score 7-0, the Blue Jays struck back in the bottom of the 6th. Blass hit a fly out to centerfield, sending Schmidt home for Etown’s first run of the game. They managed two more in the bottom of the 7th when Dark doubled to centerfield, allowing Witmer to score. First-year Wendy Header singled to shortstop later in the inning, getting first-year Sarah Personette to home.
The Cardinals defeated the Jays with a final score of 7-3, handing Etown their first two Landmark Conference losses of the season.
Tuesday, April 10, the Blue Jays played away against York College, earning one win and one loss in the doubleheader.
Etown took the first game 4-0, led by Blass who had two home runs in the game. She homered to left field in the third inning to give the Jays the lead. In the fifth inning she stole second, while first-year Lindsey Fasolo stole third. Then, in the seventh, Blass hit her second home run to left field again, sending her and Header home.
York took the second game 5-3. Etown started out with a 1-0 lead in the first when Varrato doubled to right center, allowing Blass to score. York scored one run in the second inning and then the third, then sealed the deal with a three-run fourth inning. Dark singled in the fifth letting Varrato score, then doubled in the seventh with the same result, but it was not enough to take the win.
The Jays will play another Landmark Conference doubleheader Sunday, April 15 at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. away against the University of Scranton.
