QUAKERTOWN, Pa. – The East Stroudsburg University softball teams' bats stayed hot, combining for 14 runs on 22 hits including five home runs to stay alive in the PSAC Tournament, downing California (Pa.) 7-4 and Kutztown, 7-1 on Thursday afternoon at Veteran's Park.

With the pair of wins, the Warriors (38-15) advance as one of four remaining teams in the PSAC Tournament and will play Mercyhurst on Friday at 12:30 p.m. The Vulcans (27-24) and Golden Bears (29-24) are eliminated for the PSAC Tournament with its second loss.

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Notables

• Pacing the explosive Warriors bats were Denva Shaw-Tait and Maddy Pritchard, who both produced a pair of runs in both contests. Shaw-Tait smacked a solo home run and an RBI double against the Vulcans, before smacking a two-run home run in game two against KU. Pritchard smacked a go-ahead two-run home run against Cal (Pa.) and added a two-RBI single to put the Warriors' up 7-0 against the Golden Bears.
• The catching duo of Kaitlin Houser and Shannon Edelman both connected on a home run, with Houser knotting up the score against Cal, while Edelman connected on a two-run home run to open the scoring against Kutztown.
• Other Warriors that produced an RBI include Reilly Vicendese, Jada Smallwood and Abigail Weirich.
• After a shaky first start in the PSAC Tournament, Paige Zigmund (W, 21-4) bounced back with a solid performance. The PSAC East Pitcher of the Year allowed four earned runs on five hits, without issuing a walk and struck out five Vulcans.  
• Leigh Ann Jenkins (W, 11-7) tossed seven strong innings against Kutztown, scattering six hits for one earned run. She struck out two and allowed just one walk in the outing.
• Vicendes tied the school record for hits in a season with 67 in the contest against the Golden Bears. She looks to break the record tomorrow against the Lakers.

How It Happened – ESU 7, California (Pa) 4

• The Warriors took a 1-0 lead in the second inning after Denva Shaw-Tait blasted a solo home run down the right field line.
• ESU's lead grew to 2-0 after a sacrifice fly off the bat of Jada Smallwood int the bottom of the 3rd, but the Vulcans countered with a three-run shot in the top of the 4th to take a 3-2 edge.
• The Cal (Pa.) lead did not last long, as Houser smashed a solo home run to knot the score at 3-3.
• The Warriors were able to take the lead on a Shaw-Tait double in the bottom of the 5th, with pinch-runner Jade Hassler scoring on the play on the hit down the left field line.
• The Vulcans connected on a solo home run from Alyssa Rose to tie up the score at 4-4 in the top of the 6th. The back-and-forth battle continued, as Pritchard blasted a two-run home in the sixth to lift ESU to 6-4 lead. The Warriors were able to add an insurance run with a Vicendese double to score Nies, to make it a 7-4 contest.
• Needing three outs, Zigmund recorded a groundout and struck out the final two batters for her 21st win of the season.  

How It Happened ESU 7, Kutztown 1  

• In the top of the 2nd, the Warriors opened the scoring with an Edelman two-run home run. The Warriors doubled its advantage with another two-run shot, this time from Shaw-Tait.
• ESU took full control in the sixth inning, with a Weirich single extending the lead to 5-0. Pritchard extended the advantage to seven with a two-RBI single to right center to score a pair of Warriors.
• KU got on the scoreboard with an RBI double from Kate Ostaszewski, to make it a 7-1 game.
• That's the only run Jenkins conceded, retiring the final six batters she faced for the win against the Golden Bears.

Up Next

• The Warriors advance to Friday, where it will battle Mercyhurst at 12:30 p.m.
• The winner will then play at 3:00 p.m. against the loser of Bloomsburg and Shippensburg, who play at 10:00 a.m. on Friday.

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