GRANTHAM, Pa. (May 7, 2016) – Sophomore Katie Sterling (Middletown, Del.) homered and drove in three runs to lead the Widener University softball team to a 10-6 victory over Stevenson in an elimination game at the Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth Tournament on Saturday afternoon. The Pride, who fell to Hood by a 5-2 score earlier in the day, advanced to play the Blazers again in another elimination contest tomorrow at 11:00 a.m.
 
Stevenson (17-26) used aggressive base running to manufacture the first two runs in the third inning of the elimination game. With runners on the corners, Tiffany Kahl stole second and Mueller came home for the first run. Senior Alie Alkins (Aston, Pa.) was able to catch Kahl in a rundown on her way to third, but the Mustangs added another tally before the inning was over on a sacrifice fly to center by Jasmyn Ogletree.
 
Despite giving up a third run in the top of the fourth, Widener stormed back with heavy hitting to score four times in the bottom of the fourth and six times in the fifth. After Alkins blasted her second double of the game, Sterling went yard for the sixth time this season to start the rally. Senior Taylor Church (Glen Mills, Pa.) scored on a ball hit to the Stevenson pitcher, and then freshman Olivia Rogers (West Chester, Pa.) broke the tie two plays later with an RBI double.
 
Sterling once again sparked the offense in the fifth frame by driving in sophomore Lauren DelRomano (Broomall, Pa.), who doubled earlier in the frame. Rogers then singled to score two more and later capped the scoring during the six-run frame by coming home from third when the Mustangs were trying to throw out Horvath on a steal attempt.
 
Stevenson attempted to rally by plating three runs in the sixth, but the deficit was just too much to overcome. Junior Ally Horvath (Chalfont, Pa.) came in to pitch and was able to get the last four outs the Pride needed to hold on for the win to survive and advance.
 
Junior Devin Coyne (Chesapeake, Va.) moved ahead to 4-0 for Widener by earning the victory. She threw 3.1 frames of relief during the middle of the game. Stevenson's Brooke Steinbach suffered the loss and dropped to 6-12 after being lit up for four hits and six runs, including four earned, over just one frame in a relief role.
 
Earlier in the day, Widener pushed its first two runs across in the bottom of the third against the Blazers of Hood. Horvath provided the spark by doubling in sophomore Taylor Allen (Northeast, Md.), stealing third and then coming home on a two-bagger by Alkins that dropped in the dirt between the third baseman and shortstop.
 
Hood (20-15), however, answered right back by scoring two in the bottom of the fourth. After Shelby Alcorn singled and stole second with two down, Kayli Paugh and Roo Saglimbeni hit back-to-back home runs to put the Blazers in front by a 3-2 score. The Blazers then padded their lead and scored twice in the seventh by capitalizing on two Pride errors to come away with the three-run victory.
 
Paugh picked up the victory for Hood and improved to 9-4. She went the distance and surrendered five hits and two runs, which were both unearned, and fanned three. Widener's Alexis Schengrund suffered the loss for Widener and fell to 11-5. She gave up six hits and three runs, which were all earned, while registering five strikeouts over five frames.
 
Widener (30-10) will play Hood in another elimination game tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. If successful, the Pride will look to defeat host Messiah twice to capture its first Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth championship in program history.