Softball Slugs to Sweep over Nittany Lions
Leopards come back to defeat Abington; fly past Fayette for two wins in Myrtle Beach.
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Freshman Sabrina Haarstick (Milford, Mass.) went a combined 5-for-8 with two doubles and three RBI's to lead the Wentworth softball team to a pair of wins over Penn St.-Abington and Penn St.-Fayette in day three of the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic.
Game One – Wentworth 6, Penn St.-Abington 4
The Leopards pulled off a gritty win in the opening contest and broke out to a fast start, starting with a base hit from freshman Brianna Beverly (Pawcatuck, Conn.) in the third inning. Beverly and junior Rylee Rehders (Moreno Valley, Calif.) crossed home for the 2-0 lead and added another in the fourth, before the tides changed in the fifth where Penn St. stole the lead, 4-3.
In their last chance at the plate, Wentworth executed standout offense ignited by a deep triple from freshman Alexandra Pina (Cumberland, R.I.), her second of the southern swing. Classmate Katie Verreault (Scarborough, Maine) belted a double to left, scoring Pina on the play, before Haarstick drove in Verreault on a single to right. The Nittany Lions went down in order with freshman Aurora Wilks (Fruitport, Mich.) on the mound, as the freshman pitcher entered the win in the circle with a pair of strikeouts and no earned runs over 2.0 innings.
Pina and Haarstick both went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI, each hitting for extra bases. Verreault cracked the second double of her career, joining Beverly and Rehders with one hit on the stat sheet. Verreault also drove in two runs in the win, while junior Deanna DiPilato (Worcester, Mass.) recorded an RBI as well.
Game Two – Wentworth 10, Penn St.-Abington 2 (Five Innings)
Wentworth got the bats going in the nightcap and took down the Nittany Lions in five innings, beating its first opponent by rule of mercy in Myrtle Beach since 2016. The Leopards scattered a season-best eight hits and took control early as the Leopards led 3-0 after one, thanks to an RBI apiece from Haarstick and sophomore Kayla DeMedeiros (South Dartmouth, Mass.).
Wentworth added a combined seven runs over the next two innings, while Wilks let up just two runs (one earned) for her second win of the day. DeMedeiros tossed 2.0 innings of relief and fanned three batters.
Haarstick went 3-for-4 from the plate with a double, three runs batted in, and three runs scored. Pina and Verreault went 2-for-4, while Beverly had two hits with an RBI to round out multi-hit performances. Freshman Ceilidh Higgins (Medway, Mass.) joined Haarstick with three runs in the win.
The Leopards are back at it tomorrow with two games against Grove City and Rivier University.
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