STROUDSBURG – In a battle of 2023 NCAA Tournament teams, the No. 17 East Stroudsburg University softball team took down St. Thomas Aquinas in a pair of contests, earning a 2-1 win in game one and taking the nightcap, 8-2, on Tuesday afternoon at Creekview Park's Vigon International Field.

The Warriors (8-4) extended their winning streak to five with the sweep, while the Spartans dropped to 2-6 on the season.

ESU's pitching shined once again, with the trio of Paige Zigmund (W, 5-1), Abbie Landrum, and Sarah Davenport (W, 3-2) combining to allow just eight hits and three earned runs over 14 innings, holding STAC to a .160 batting average on the day.

Notables:

• Zigmund pitched a seven-inning complete game in game one, allowing just three hits. In her third consecutive win, the Bethlehem native struck out seven and walked just one batter, lowering her ERA to 2.08 and her batting average against to .181.
• In game two, Landrum started and allowed three hits and one earned run in two innings against her former team. Davenport entered in the third inning, striking out 10 while allowing just one run and two hits. Davenport has now struck out 43 batters in her first 32 collegiate innings.
• Denva Shaw-Tait led ESU with three hits on the day, including a double and triple, driving in a run in the first game.
• Delaney Ridgell extended her hitting streak to seven games with an RBI single in game one and a triple in game two.
• Kaitlin Houser hit an RBI double to give ESU a 2-0 lead in game two.
• Katie Master hit her first career home run as a Warrior in game two, also adding a double, finishing with two RBIs and two runs scored.
• Kate Donaghue produced a pair of runs with a pinch-hit RBI double in game two to give ESU a 2-1 advantage.
• Taylor Lipkins (RBI single) and Samantha Derickson (RBI double) also contributed runs in game one.

How It Happened – Game One:

• The Warriors scored in each of the first two innings to build an early lead.
• With runners on the corners, Ridgell hit a double to center field, scoring the first run of the game with Lipkins crossing the plate in the bottom of the 1st.
• Shaw-Tait led off the bottom of the 2nd with a double, and Houser sent her home with another double.
• The Warriors kept the Spartans scoreless in the top of the 3rd, even after the first two Spartans reached base via a single and a walk. A sacrifice bunt put two runners in scoring position with one out, but Zigmund secured the inning without allowing a run with a pair of flyouts.
• STAC ended the shutout attempt with a leadoff home run in the top of the 4th by Eliana Raposo. Zigmund then recorded two more strikeouts to limit further damage.
• Both pitchers continued their strong performances, with Zigmund retiring the side in order in the final inning for her fifth win in six starts.

How It Happened – Game Two:

• STAC struck first with a leadoff triple by Elyse Marcano, leading to a run on a one-out groundout RBI by Olivia Leon.
• The Warriors took control in the bottom of the 2nd with a four-run inning, all scored with two outs. Shaw-Tait's two-out triple started the rally, followed by a hit-by-pitch and Donaghue's two-RBI double. Master then hit an RBI double to score Donaghue, and Lipkins added an RBI single to extend ESU's lead.
• Davenport took over with a 4-1 lead and was dominant, allowing her only run in the top of the 5th on a two-out RBI single from Marcano, cutting the Warrior lead to 4-2.
• After a couple of quiet innings, ESU sealed the game in the bottom of the 6th with four more runs, highlighted by Master's two-run home run, securing an 8-2 victory.
• Davenport struck out the final five batters she faced, ensuring the Warriors' second consecutive sweep.

Up Next:

• No. 17 ESU returns to Creekview Park on Sunday to face Molloy in a doubleheader. The games in Stroudsburg are set for 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.