GLENSIDE, Pa. - The Arcadia University softball team split its series-opening doubleheader with King's Friday night at Blankley Field, dropping the opening game 1-0 before rallying for a 6-2 victory in the nightcap. The Knights got a pair of strong, complete-game efforts in the circle from
Kylee Schwind and
Juliana Presto, while
Megan Sooy hit her third home run of the season in the game two win to go along with a 2-for-3 night from
Brooke Ward - who doubled twice and drove in two.
ARCADIA 0, KING'S 1
HOW IT HAPPENED
-After stranding a runner in scoring position to open the her seventh start of the season, Schwind settled into a groove to retire the next six Monarch batters in order with a pair of strikeouts. King's broke through with the lone run of the game with a leadoff home run in the fourth, but Schwind kept the Knights in the game by retiring 12 of the next 15 batters the rest of the way in the complete-game effort.
-The Knights looked poised to draw even with the Monarchs in the home half of the sixth as
Alexis Burge reached on a two-out single back through the middle and moved into scoring position on a
Madi Costigan infield single. However, King's was able to work its way out of the inning unscathed and held on in the seventh for the 1-0 win.
KNIGHT OFFENSIVE LEADERS
-DeStefano: 2-3, SB
KNIGHT PITCHING LEADERS
-Schwind: 7 IP, 3 H, R, 5 K
ARCADIA 6, KING'S 2
HOW IT HAPPENED
-Each side had one hit through the scoreless first two innings of the nightcap before the Knights broke out for a pair of runs in the home half of the third to take their first lead of the night.
Brooke Ward started the rally with a one-out double - her first of two in the game - before an
Alex DeStefano single down the line in left set up runners on the corners. After DeStefano swiped second, Costigan plated Ward with a base hit followed by Burge brought home the second run of the frame with an RBI groundout.
-King's answered right away with a pair of two-out runs to tie the game at two, but
Megan Sooy put the Knights back out in front with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the fourth. The Monarchs threatened again in the top of the fifth by getting the tying run to third with one out, but
Juliana Presto snagged a comebacker to the circle and doubled off the runner at first to end the inning and preserve the one-run lead in the late innings.
-The Knights added three insurance runs in the sixth to pad their lead, as
Jackie Zwicker lined a pinch-hit RBI single to left-center ahead of Ward who broke the game open with a two-out, two-run double to the gap in left to extend the Arcadia lead to four. Presto put the finishing touches on her fourth win of the season with a clean seventh inning and recording her seventh strikeout of the night to end the game.
KNIGHT OFFENSIVE LEADERS
-Sooy: 3-3, Solo HR (3)
-Ward: 2-3, 2 2B, 2 RBI
-Costigan: 2-3, RBI
KNIGHT PITCHING LEADERS
-Presto: W (4-1), 7 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 7 K
UP NEXT
Arcadia (9-3, 6-2 MAC Freedom) concludes its four-game series with King's Saturday in Wilkes-Barre beginning at 1 p.m.
