QUAKERTOWN, Pa. – In a back-and-forth thriller which featured 21 runs, 23 hits and five home runs, the East Stroudsburg University softball team came up just short in its first PSAC Tournament contest to Slippery Rock, falling to The Rock, 11-10, on Wednesday afternoon at Quakertown's Veteran's Memorial Park.
With the loss, the Warriors (36-15) head to the elimination bracket and will play on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. against either California, Seton Hill or Shippensburg. The Rock (29-22) advance in the winner's bracket and will face the winner of Seton Hill and Shippensburg at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday.
Notables
- All-PSAC East Second Team outfielder Abigail Weirich paced the Warriors with two hits and three RBIs. She smacked an RBI single in the third and lifted ESU to a lead in the fourth with a two-RBI single.
- A total of five Warriors produced a single run, which included a Jada Smallwood solo home run, an RBI single by Brooke McKeown, a Kaitlin Houser bases loaded walk, a Maddy Pritchard sacrifice fly and a Gianna Coyle pinch-hit RBI single.
- The home run for Smallwood was her eighth of the season.
- Weirich retakes the RBI lead from Smallwood, now with 47 in 51 games on the season.
- PSAC East Pitcher of the Year Paige Zigmund (L, 20-4) suffered a rare loss in the circle, charged with nine earned runs on 11 hits, while striking out seven batters and issuing six walks. Maddy Pritchard got the remaining five outs, allowing an earned run on two hits, while striking out three.
- Alexsa Hurd (W, 12-4) picked up the victory in relief for the Rock. SRU's bats were led by Julia Montie, Hurd and Arielle Brown, who combined for seven RBIs on five hits.
- It was just the fourth meeting between the long-time conference foes and its first meeting since 2012.
- The NCAA announced on Wednesday that ESU remained No. 1 in the Atlantic Region Rankings, with results as of April 30. Eight slots are allotted to each of the eight regions in the NCAA Division II Tournament coming up shortly.
How It Happened
- The Rock was able to load the bases in the top of 2nd with a single and back-to-back walks. A wild pitched allowed the first run of the contest to cross the plate. After a strikeout for the second out in the inning, a two-out single from Arielle Brown lifted SRU to a 3-0 lead early on.
- ESU instantly responded with a solo home run, with Jada Smallwood blasting a deep round tripper to center field. The Warriors threatened for more runs after a Pritchard double put runners on second and third, but a strikeout ended the frame.
- The Rock extended its lead back to three runs after a solo home run in the top of the 3rd, but ESU was able to get the run back with an RBI single from Weirich which found space. SRU took a 4-2 lead into the fourth inning.
- A bases loaded walk and lifted SRU to a 5-2 lead.
- ESU inched back with an RBI single by McKeown in the bottom of the 4th to start a rally. The Warriors added runs by scoring on an error to make it a one-run contest. Weirich supplied her second and third RBIs on the day in game one to lift ESU to a 6-5 lead. A bases-loaded walk sent home the fifth run of the inning, as the Warriors scored five runs on three hits and took advantage of an error.
- A two-run home run by Alexsa Hurd knotted the game at seven in the top of the 6th. Julia Montie connected on a three-run home run to take a three-run lead at 10-7. A solo home run from Emma Kennedy concluded The Rock scoring, with six runs on five hits.
- ESU got within a single run of The Rock in the bottom of the 6th, with a sacrifice fly from Pritchard, a pinch-hit RBI single from Coyle. After stealing third, Coyle came around to score on a throwing error by the catcher, to make it an 11-10 contest.
- Pritchard, who entered the circle in the fifth, allowed a double, but got out of the 7th inning unscathed with two strikeouts and a foul out.
- Down to its last three outs, ESU could not put a runner on base, falling 11-10 to SRU.
Up Next
- ESU awaits its next opponent, which is the winner of California (Pa.) versus either Seton Hill or Shippensburg on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. in Quakertown.
