EAST STROUDSBURG – After holding Lock Haven to just nine hits in two games, the East Stroudsburg University softball team earned a pair of victories to complete the season sweep over the Bald Eagles.
The Warriors (26-12, 17-11 PSAC East) have now earned wins in 13 of their past 17 games, while the Bald Eagles (9-19, 9-19) have fallen in seven of their last eight outings.
A strong pitching performance from Marah Range (W, 14-4) and a shutout from Leigh Ann Jenkins (W, 7-5) propelled ESU to the sweep.
Range allowed just five hits and two walks while striking out three. She held the Bald Eagles to hit just .200 on the day for her PSAC leading 14th win of the season.
Jenkins posted her second shutout of the season, scattering four hits over the complete game, while striking out three and walking two. She lowered her ERA to a team-best 2.62.
Freshman Reilly Vicendese and senior Morgan Walsh paced the ESU offense with a combined nine hits and six RBIs. Vicendese went 5-7 from the plate with two doubles and three RBIs. She also stole two bags on two attempts. After setting the freshmen program record in runs and RBIs against Lock Haven last Friday, Vicendese set another Warrior freshmen record today against the Bald Eagles with 53 hits during her first year in the Poconos.
Walsh supplied four hits on six at bats and also drove in three Warriors on the afternoon. Over her last five appearances, Walsh has registered seven RBIs while going 8-14 from the plate.
Molly Nies also batted above .500 in the doubleheader with four hits, on two doubles and a triple for a pair of RBIs.
MacKenzie Lewis, Rachel Arner, Kaitlyn Caleen and Kaitlin Houser also plated runs.
Vicendese, Nies and Arner each crossed the plate three times to account for nine of the 12 ESU runs on the day.
The Warriors, who registered six stolen bases on seven opportunities on the afternoon, now lead all of Division II with 110 total stolen bases. ESU has only been caught stealing 10 times, posting a stolen base percentage of 91.6 percent.
ESU enters the final weekend of the regular season in third-place in the East Division of the PSAC. The top-four teams in each division earn a spot in the upcoming PSAC Tournament.
With the pair of wins today, ESU's 26 wins during the 2021 season is tied for the third most wins in a single season in program history. The Warriors are just three wins away from matching the program record of 29 wins, which was set during the 2007 campaign.
GAME ONE
After Range set the side down in order to begin the day, ESU quickly grabbed a lead in the home half of the first. Walsh sent her first of four singles in the doubleheader through a gap on the left side to score Vicendese.
LHU countered with its first run of the day on a solo home run from Sydney Arriagale. Range would retire nine consecutive Bald Eagles after conceding the long ball.
The score remained tied until the bottom of the 3rd, as Walsh once again came up with a timely single to score Vicendese with one out in the frame. The Warriors were not done, as Caleen was able to single home Nicole Klass, who pinch ran for Walsh. The Warriors led 3-1 after three innings.
Nies registered her first RBI in ESU's next at bats, as a two-out double from the native of Marriotttsville, Md. native would score Arner, as the Warriors grabbed a 4-1 advantage.
LHU would not go down quietly. In the top of the 5th, the Bald Eagles would load the bases with two outs. Riley McClennan would knock in a pair of RBIs on a single to slice the deficit to just 4-3.
Range retired the Bald Eagles in order in the sixth, as Marissa Govan began the home half of the sixth with a triple. After back to back strikeouts, ESU would rally, as a single from Arner would plate Govan to make it a 5-3 contest. ESU would add three more runs in the frame on an RBI triple from Nies, along with RBI singles from Vicendese and Walsh to lengthen the Warrior advantage to 8-3.
Range allowed just one base runner via a single in the top of the 7th, as she picked up her 14th win with yet another impressive outing.
GAME TWO
Jenkins shined in the circle, but allowed two of her four hits in the appearance to begin the contest in the top of the 1st. LHU would bunt the runners into scoring position, but Jenkins would force a line out and ground out to herself. ESU kept the game scoreless after a half inning.
The Warriors were able to plate the first run of the game in the bottom of the 2nd, as Lewis would smack a RBI single to center field to score Klass.
LHU would put a pair of runners on base in the top of the 3rd on a walk and single, but Jenkins would once again escape damage on the scoreboard with a ground out and fly out to end the half inning.
In the home half of the third, ESU used small ball to extend its lead. Arner would leadoff the inning with a bunt single and then stole second. Nies would belt a single to advance Arner to third. Vicendese would come up with a clutch two-RBI double to left center, as ESU led 4-0. Vicendese would later steal third base in the inning and score on a single from Houser to extend the Warrior lead to 4-0 after three frames.
That would wrap up the scoring on both sides. Jenkins kept the Bald Eagles at bay, allowing just one hit after the third inning. She ended the day and secured the season sweep of Lock Haven with a pair of strikeouts for her seventh win of the season.
ESU hosts second-place Shepherd on Fri., April 30 at 1:00 p.m. for Senior Day. The Warriors will then close out the regular season in Shepherdstown, W.V. against the Rams on Sat., May 1.
