NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – The Westminster softball team split a non-conference doubleheader with Hiram in its home-opener on Thursday.
Westminster (9-2) won game one, 6-5, and lost game two, 7-2.
"Catching up to the pitching and finally getting into the playing of a full seven-inning game," said head coach
Jan Reddinger on what the keys were to victory in game one. "It took all seven innings and was a whole team effort in the first game."
Hiram (7-7) took a 1-0 lead in game one, however, the Titans responded with six unanswered runs and led 6-1 going into the final inning. Junior
Mackenzie Latess (New Castle, PA / Laurel) highlighted the scoring spree with a two-run home run to left center in the fifth. In their last at-bat, the Terriers managed to get within one-run of Westminster's lead. Titan senior pitcher
Madison Brown (Lisbon, OH / East Liverpool) earned the complete-game win, while striking out four.
After three scoreless innings in the nightcap, the Terriers took a 1-0 lead in the fourth. Sophomore
Elizabeth Malczak (Grove City, PA / Grove City) tied the game in the bottom half of the first with an RBI-single, scoring Latess. Hiram took a three-run lead with three runs in the fifth. An RBI-single by junior
Leah Pancake (North Lima, OH / Beaver Local) in the sixth cut Hiram's lead to 4-2. The Terriers added three insurance runs in the seventh. Malczak (4-1) started the game, pitching 4.2 innings, giving up four runs off eight hits, and striking out one.
"The positives are that I see them thinking more and learning the game," Reddinger said about game two. "We needed to have a team hit against us, we need to be in those situations. It was a good learning experience today."
The Titans are back on the field Saturday, March 26 with a road doubleheader at Pitt-Bradford. Game one is set for 1 p.m.
