CHESTER, Pa. – The Widener University softball team engineered one of the biggest comebacks in recent team memory winning the opening game of a doubleheader against the Messiah Falcons 11-8 on Saturday afternoon. Messiah took the nightcap 4-2.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Katie Sterling had four hits in the two games, driving in four runs.
• Carli Benzoich also drove in four runs, posting three hits.
• Jamie Gosselin and Lindsey Cooper also had three hits apiece while Lauren DelRomano and Taylor Allen each had two.
• Bella Bottini tossed 13.2 innings for Widener, picking up the win in the opener and tossing a complete game in the second contest.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED IN GAME ONE (Widener 11, Messiah 8)

• Messiah opened the scoring with six runs in the first inning, aided by four walks and two WU errors.
• Widener responded with three runs in the bottom of the frame thanks to an RBI double from Sterling and a single down the line from Carli Benzoich to score two.
• After the Falcons got one of the runs back in the top of the second, the Blue and Gold got the offense going again. Lindsey Cooper led off with a single followed by back-to-back doubles from Jamie Gosselin and Lauren DelRomano, bringing home a pair of runs to slice the edge to 7-5.
• Widener continued to show its resolve in the third, Trailing 8-5 entering the inning, the Pride put Bella Bottini on second and DelRomano on first thanks to a single and a walk. Sterling drove in both runs with a double and advanced to third on an error. The miscue proved costly as Benzoich reached on an infield single, plating Sterling and knotting the score at 8-8.
• The Pride took the lead for the first time in the game the following frame as Olivia Rigby walked with one out and stole second. Two batters later, a fielding error allowed Rigby to come across the plate, pushing WU on top 9-8.
• Two more runs came across in the fifth as Liv Rogers doubled home DelRomano and Sterling who had each singled to lead off the inning.
• Bottini picked up her second win of the season allowing two runs in 6.2 innings after coming on in relief in the first.
• Sterling led the 15-hit attack with three base knocks and drove in three runs.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED IN GAME TWO (Messiah 4, Widener 2)

• A homer staked the Falcons to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, but Widener responded in its half of the inning as an RBI double by Sterling and a run-scoring single from Benzoich knotted the game at 2-2.
• The game remained that way until the fifth when Messiah broke through with a pair of runs.
• Bottini pitched her third complete game of the season for Widener.

UP NEXT
Widener returns to action on Monday, April 9, hosting Eastern in a non-conference doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.