LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The Lock Haven University softball team (24-16, 10-6 PSACC) recorded a huge, Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Central division sweep of division leader Bloomsburg (24-15, 11-5 PSACC) Saturday afternoon at Lawrence Field. LHU took game one, 7-0 before outlasting the Huskies, 3-1 in game two.
The wins push LHU to 10-6 in the PSAC Central, just one game back of Bloomsburg, who sits at 11-5.
Game One: W, 7-0
Lock Haven got the win in game one, 7-0.
Rachel Gricoski (Frackville, Pa./North Schuylkill) got the scoring started early for LHU when she singled down the left field line to score a run and put The Bald Eagles ahead, 1-0 in the bottom of the first.
In the third,
Traci Kromko (Tunkhannock, Pa./Tunkhannock) extended Lock Haven's lead to 3-0 when she sent a two-run single out to left field.
The Bald Eagles added two runs in both the fifth and sixth innings as the team pulled away and knocked off Bloom, 7-0 in game one.
Gricoski and
Amanda Criss (Bel Air, Md./Bel Air) led LHU offensively as they both tallied two hits. Gricoski finished 2-3 with a run scored and an RBI while Criss went 2-4 at the plate with two runs scored.
Kromko,
Bekah Slattery (Douglasville, Pa./Daniel Boone) and
Casey Carpenter (Spring Brook, Pa./North Pocono) all finished with two RBI's in the game. Slattery added a two-run triple while Carpenter had a two-run home run in the sixth inning.
Slattery pitched another gem in the circle for LHU, throwing a complete game three-hitter. She struck out nine hitters in the game. She also added two more strikeouts in game two, bringing her current career total to 765 strikeouts.
Game Two: W, 3-1
LHU took game two by a final score of 3-1 to sweep the doubleheader over Bloomsburg.
Tied 0-0 in the bottom of the third, The Bald Eagles were able to capitalize on a pair of Bloomsburg errors to put two runs on the board and take a 2-0 lead.
Gricoski extended the lead to 3-0 in the fifth with she plated
Kayla Gee (Williamsport, Pa./Loyalsock) with a single up the middle.
Bloom added a run in the sixth, but it was not enough as Lock Haven swept the day from the Huskies with a game two win, 3-1.
Gricoski led the LHU offense as she recorded a single and an RBI while Gee, Carpenter,
Becca Caputo (Williamsport, Pa./Jersey Shore) and
Chloe Kennedy (Elkton, Md./Caravel Academy) all added hits in the game.
Caputo, Gee and Slattery combined to put together a solid game on the mound. Gee got the win as she pitched 3.0 innings while allowing just three hits. Slattery was credited with her fifth save of the season.
Up Next:
The Bald Eagles will have a few days off before the team returns to the field with the cancellation of Monday's doubleheader at Bloomfield. LHU will now next play Friday, April 26 when they travel to Mansfield for another PSAC Central matchup. Those games are scheduled for 2:30/4:30 PM start times.
