Softball goes extra innings in split against crosstown foe La Roche

PITTSBURGH --- Carlow University softball split its Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference doubleheader with La Roche University Monday evening.

Game 1: W, 9-8

The Celtics (6-30, 3-11 AMCC) staved off a late comeback by the RedHawks (10-30, 6-10 AMCC) and secured a win in the first game.

La Roche put two unearned runs on the board off three hits and an error in the first. Tatum Wiggs (Boron, Calif./Boron HS) retired the side in the second, and Carrah Scardina (Natrona Heights, Pa./Highlands HS) hit a bases-loaded double to put Carlow ahead, 3-2, in the top of the third.

Four hits and another costly error afforded La Roche a 5-3 lead in the bottom half of the frame.

The Celtics put together a big inning in the fifth. With one out and the bases loaded, Cailyn Lucas (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills HS) hit a two-run single to center field and tied the game 5-all. Gianna Ferrieri (South Park, Pa./Seton LaSalle Catholic HS) hit a two-out, two run triple down the right field line to give Carlow a 7-5 lead, and the Celtics left a runner stranded in the bottom of the inning heading into the sixth.

The RedHawks left two runners on the base paths and tied the game 7-7 in the bottom of the sixth. An error, a single and a two-run double brought the runs home for La Roche.

Carlow scored its go-ahead runs in the top of the seventh. Back-to-back two-out singles from Ferrieri and Deborah Garza (San Antonio, Texas/Robert G. Cole HS) put runners in scoring position, and Erica Keeley (Munhall, Pa./Steel Valley HS) snapped a 20-game hitting drought with a single down the left field line to bring them both home. An error kept the inning going, but La Roche recorded the final out in the next at-bat.

The Celtics recorded two quick outs in the bottom of the inning, but back-to-back walks and an RBI single to center field saw the RedHawks trailing by one.

Coach Glenn Zinsmeister brought Ferrieri in to record the final out, and she succeeded with a fly ball to right field to end the game.

Wiggs earned the win in the circle, allowing four earned runs on 12 hits with five walks and two strikeouts in 6.2 innings. Ferrieri earned her second save of the season in relief and went 2 for 4 with a triple and two RBI at the plate.

Scardina hit 2 for 4 with a double and three RBI, Kamyia Morris (Pittsburgh, Pa./Seton LaSalle Catholic HS) went 2 for 5 and Lexi Berta (DuBois, Pa./DuBois Central Catholic) tallied two sacrifices.

Maura Wade was saddled with the loss after allowing nine earned runs on 11 hits with two walks and five strikeouts in the complete game effort. Ashlee Bair went 3 for 4 with a double and three RBI, while Finley Hohn and Anastacia Jacobs hit 2 for 4 with one RBI each.

Game 2: L, 6-5 (9 inn.)

The RedHawks outlasted the Celtics in extra innings in the nightcap. Once again, it was a back and forth game, with the teams trading leads early.

La Roche scored a run in the bottom of the first, and Carlow tied it up in the top of the fourth. A one-out double from Wiggs and single by Garza put runners on the corners, and Keeley singled to right field to bring Wiggs home.

The RedHawks gained a 3-1 advantage in the bottom of the fifth off three hits and an error before the Celtics went ahead once again in the top of the sixth.

Ferrieri led off the inning with a double to left-center, and a sacrifice put her on third. An RBI single from Garza, a two-out single off the bat of Lucas and a single from Morris followed by a subsequent error gave Carlow a 4-3 lead.

It was short-lived, as back-to-back, two-out singles tied the score for La Roche in the bottom half of the frame.

Both teams left runners stranded through the seventh, forcing the international tiebreak rule in extra innings.

La Roche escaped a bases-loaded jam in the eighth, and Carlow retired the RedHawks in order in the bottom of the inning.

Garza hit an RBI single to put the Celtics ahead 5-4 in the ninth, but two hits and a costly error handed La Roche the walk-off win.

Ferrieri suffered the loss, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits with a strikeout in four innings of work. Lucas started the game and allowed three earned runs on nine hits with one strikeout in 4.1 innings. Garza went 4 for 4 with two RBI and a walk, and Wiggs hit 2 for 3 at the plate.

Klover Haberthier earned the win for the RedHawks, allowing three runs (one earned) on five hits with two walks in 3.1 innings. Gabby Sbraccia went 4 for 5 with four RBI.

The Celtics conclude the season with an AMCC doubleheader at Hilbert College May 2.