LATROBE, Pa. – The Westminster College softball team swept a doubleheader against Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) powerhouse Saint Vincent College on the road Saturday afternoon. The Titans won the first game, 4-2, and won the second game, 7-6, in eight innings.
The doubleheader was highlighted by three first collegiate home runs for the Titans.
In game one, Westminster (18-16, 9-7 PAC) and Saint Vincent (23-13, 11-3 PAC) battled back and forth in the early innings, until senior
Cheyenne Shifflett (Etters, PA / Trinity) put the Titans on the board with the first home run of her career to give the Titans a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning. The Titans extended their lead to 3-0 in the sixth inning when first-year
Madison Brown (Lisbon, OH / East Liverpool) grounded out to bring home fellow first-year
Jasmine Woodings (Verona, PA / Penn Hills). Saint Vincent scored two runs in the bottom half of the sixth, cutting the Titans' lead to 3-2. Westminster responded with an RBI-double by sophomore
Leigha Knox (Aliquippa, PA / Central Valley) to give the Titans an insurance run, sealing the victory. Brown got the win in the circle for the Titans, tossing seven innings, scattering two hits and two runs (zero earned), to go along with a career-high 13 strikeouts.
In game two, the Titans immediately jumped on the board with two runs in the first inning, capped off by an RBI-groundout by sophomore
Ashley Chorney (Indian Trail, NC / Porter Ridge) to take a 2-0 lead. Chorney delivered again in the third inning with a two-run home run, the first of her collegiate career, to put the Titans on top, 4-2. Saint Vincent scored two more runs in the bottom half of the third inning to tie the game, but the Titans responded again with a solo home run down the right-field line by Brown, the first of her collegiate career, to give them a 5-4 lead. The Titans scored another run in the sixth inning, and had Saint Vincent down to their final out in the in bottom of the seventh. The Bearcats, however, scored two runs off a base hit to tie the game, 6-6, to send the game into extra innings. In the eighth inning, Knox deposited a two-out double to center field to set the stage for sophomore
Haley Bedalota (Aliquippa, PA / Hopewell). Bedalota delivered with an RBI-single to give the Titans a 7-6 lead. The Bearcats got two runners on base in the bottom half of the inning, but the Titans locked all windows and doors defensively, sealing the victory and the sweep for Westminster. First-year pitcher
Krystyna Burdelski (Pittsburgh, PA / Fox Chapel) started the game in the circle. She tossed four innings, scattered nine hits, and gave up four earned runs to go along with one strikeout. Brown picked up the victory in relief for the Titans, her second win of the day. Brown now has a team-high 10 wins on the season.
The Titans concluded their PAC regular season schedule and have clinched a spot in the PAC Tournament, which starts on Thursday, May 2.
