Softball Splits Opening Day

CLERMONT, Fla. – The Wentworth Institute of Technology softball team split the opening day games at Hancock Park on Sunday afternoon. The Leopards picked up a 5-1 win over Saint Vincent in the opening game before falling to Capital 8-4 in the second game of the afternoon.

GAME 1: Wentworth 5, Saint Vincent 1

Julie Schriver earned the win to start the campaign with a 1-0 record after 4.1 scoreless innings and eight strikeouts. Schriver picks up her 35^th career win to become Wentworth's all-time wins leader. Lexi Lefkowski went 3-4 with three RBI to lead the Leopards in game one. Quincy Bolduc went 2-3 with a run and one RBI while Brianna Miller added two runs and one RBI. Maddy Longoria threw 2.2 innings with one strikeout.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Leopards opened the scoring in the second inning after a walk and an error put Kelsey Medalia and Jasmine Feliciano on base. Miller reached first on an error as Medalia came in to score to give the Leopards a 1-0 lead. Bolduc followed with a single to center to bring in Feliciano and double the lead. Lefkowski then doubled to left field to score Bolduc and Miller, stretching the lead to 4-0.
• Schriver struck out three of four batters in the third to keep Saint Vincent off the board. Miller added to the Leopards' lead in the fourth inning, scoring on Lefkowski's ground out. Schriver struck out another batter in the top of the fifth before Longoria came in to finish the game. Longoria got out of the inning with the 5-0 lead intact.
• The Bearcats got on the board in the sixth with Shayna Perigo's RBI single. The Leopards' defense got out of the inning with back-to-back outs with two runners on. Wentworth had the bases loaded in the bottom half of the frame but left all three stranded.
• Longoria shut down Saint Vincent in the seventh, ending the game with a strikeout to secure the opening day win for the Leopards.

THE SERIES

• Today was the second all-time meeting between the teams.

GAME 2: Capital 8, Wentworth 4

Seven players tallied a hit in the second game of the afternoon. Lauren Trostel scored two runs and had two RBI and Kyla Igawa and Linnea Carlson scored the other two runs for the Leopards. Julia Malowitz fell to 0-1 on the season after 2.0 innings with five earned runs. Abby Austen threw 4.0 innings with two earned runs.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Comets took the lead in the first inning behind Megan Parry's RBI single. Audrey Thomas reached on a fielder's choice to score Reagan Irons and put Capital up 2-0. The Leopards answered in the second inning with Jenna Roche's sacrifice fly scoring Trostel to make it a 2-1 game. Lefkowski's RBI single to left scored Carlson to tie the game.
• Capital regained the lead in the bottom half of the frame with a three-run home run from Kyleigh Kirby. Megan Mlinaric's RBI single scored Parry to give the Comets a 6-2 lead through two frames.
• Trostel's sacrifice fly in the third inning scored Igawa to cut the lead to 6-3, but Comets answered immediately in the bottom half of the frame. Kirby's RBI single made it an 8-3 game through three innings. Trostel hit a solo home run in the top of the fifth inning to cut the lead to 8-4, but the Leopards could not claw back into the game.

THE SERIES

• Today was the first meeting between the teams.

NEXT UP

• Wentworth will take on Adrian and Carnegie Mellon on Monday.

For the latest on Wentworth Athletics, follow the Leopards via social media on "X," Facebook and Instagram.