The Elizabethtown College softball team suffered two losses in Saturday’s make-up non-conference double-header against the DeSales University Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs won game one 12-4 in five innings and swept the Blue Jays with a win in the second game by a score of 12-5. Junior first and third baseman Jordan Nowacki said, “I think that we did well keeping our composure when the going got rough.”
The visiting Bulldogs started off strong with a two-run home run in the top of the first inning. Luckily, in the bottom half of the first, Etown sophomore Keli Krause brought one run home with a sacrifice fly.
Nowacki hit an RBI double and first-year Kirstin Blass singled home Nowacki from second to give the Jays two runs in the fourth.
Lone senior Amanda Sheckard added an RBI double in the fifth. Four runs proved not enough, as the Bulldogs put up 12 runs on 10 hits in the game.
Game two started similarly as the Bulldogs began the game with a two-run first inning. The Jays responded in the first, as they did in game one, on a Sheckard double that brought home juniors Kaylee Werner and Payton Marunich. After the Bulldogs got a run in the top of the second, the Blue Jays scored twice in the bottom of the second off of Becky Becher’s RBI single that put the Jays in front 4-3. This was the Jays first lead of the day and unfortunately, it was their last.
The Bulldogs regained the lead in the third inning and never looked back. They had 19 hits en route to a 12-5 win over the Jays and a series sweep for the day.
“At the end of the day we win as a team and we lose as a team. We are good players and believe in ourselves,” Nowaki said.
Despite the Jays’ tough weekend and the recent slump they have been in, the team has qualified for playoffs and they remain confident and high-spirited.
Junior outfielder Becky Becher said, “So far we have had a successful year. We are excited to keep our season alive. Everyone on our team has an important role, which has helped us get as far as we have. We have battled against some tough teams this year, and we are ready to face them again this weekend at playoffs.”
The softball team was scheduled to end its regular season at home on Tuesday, April 29 against rival Messiah. However, the game was cancelled because of rain and will not be rescheduled. The team’s first conference game will be tomorrow, May 2, against Susquehanna University.
