(Game One) /
(Game Two)
Widener squandered a seventh inning lead in a heartbreaking 5-4 loss to Eastern in the opener, before dropping another tough 5-3 contest in the nightcap in St. Davids, PA.
Eastern starting pitcher Janelle Fair baffled the Widener offense in game one, retiring 18 straight batters through the first six innings, and the Eagles took a 3-0 lead into the seventh inning.
But Widener's offense came alive in its final at-bat. The Pride exploded for four runs on five hits in the inning. Senior Meg Phillips (Aston, PA) led off the inning with a double and scored on a single to right by freshman Jenna Frazier (Prospect Park, PA). Two batters later, senior Kelsey Shultz (Parker Ford, PA) drove in another run on a one-out double. A strikeout put Widener down to its final out, but senior Kelly Vogelgesang (Downingtown, PA) came through with a clutch two-run homer to left to put the Pride in front, 4-3.
The hosts refused to quit, however. Eastern capitalized on three straight walks to open the bottom of the seventh, and won the game on a two-run double by Jaimie Schwartz.
Fair struck out seven for the complete game win. Schwartz drove in three runs on two hits.
Widener manufactured a run to take a 1-0 lead in the first inning of game two. Phillips led off with a walk, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored from second on a sacrifice fly from sophomore Jen Nance (Lansdowne, PA).
Shultz held Eastern in check, allowing no hits over the first three innings. But the Eagles used back-to-back doubles to take a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth.
Vogelgesang got Widener a run right back, leading off the top of the fifth with her second home run of the day to tie the game. A two-out double by Phillips later in the inning gave the Pride a 3-2 lead.
Once again, Widener had trouble holding the lead. Eastern took a 5-3 lead in the bottom of the frame, courtesy of back-to-back home runs from Fair and Maggie McGowan.
McGowan went 2-for-2 with three RBIs and a run scored for the Eagles (13-7). She also recorded the win going 5 1/3 innings to improve to 4-3. Fair recorded her second save, retiring five of the six batters she faced.
Shultz allowed just one earned run over six innings, striking out four for the Pride (13-11).
Widener on Saturday hosts Messiah for a Commonwealth Conference doubleheader, as part of the MAC ATtaCk on Hunger, beginning at 1:00 pm.
