(Posted March 29, 2006)

Washington & Jefferson 5, Juniata 4
Juniata 10, Washington & Jefferson 9 (10 innings)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. ? A three-run bottom of the tenth inning earned the Juniata College softball team a 10-9 comeback victory in the second game of its doubleheader with visiting Washington & Jefferson, after the visitors posted a comeback win of their own to claim a 5-4 victory in game one. The doubleheader split brought Juniata?s overall record to 7-15 while the Presidents are now 7-7 on the season.

After rallying to claim game one, it looked like the visitors were on the verge of claiming another comeback win as they scored four runs in the top of the seventh inning to send the second game into extra frames. After both teams went scoreless in the eighth, the Presidents capitalized on the international tie-breaker format which places a runner on second base to start the inning. Valerie Schultz singled home the go-ahead run for the visitors in the top of the eighth before Juniata answered with a run in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single from Julie Hatfield (Southern Cayuga/Scipio Center, N.Y.) to knot the game at seven.

Washington & Jefferson put Juniata on the ropes again in the tenth. A sacrifice fly brought home the first run, and then Michelle Bauerschmidt delivered a solo home run to make the score 9-7. The Eagles then mounted one final comeback as they scored three in the inning to earn the win. Abby Sener (Donegal/Marietta) doubled to drive in the first run, then came home on a Tara Carl (Otto-Eldred/Duke Center) double. After a wild pitch moved Carl to third, Pam Mansell (Penns Valley/Centre Hall) delivered the game-winning hit.

Senior hurler Renae Hobbs (Mount Union/Mount Union) went the distance to earn the win for the Eagles. She allowed seven runs, six earned over 10 innings while striking out four. Kelsey Donahue pitched all 10 innings for the Presidents and was charged with the loss as she allowed eight runs, six earned, and fanned three.

Juniata seemed to have the game well in hand after scoring two runs in each of the first, third and fourth innings. A Leann Leymeister (Blue Mountain/Orwigsburg) double and a pair of errors led to the first two runs of the game. Another error helped Juniata put two more runs on the board in the fourth. After Amanda Howard had an RBI single in the fifth, Juniata answered back with a pair in the bottom of the inning. Liz Schmitt (H Frank Carey/Franklin Square, N.Y.) delivered a two-RBI double to make the lead 6-1. Washington & Jefferson added one run in the top of the sixth on a Kim Ciani RBI single and then pushed across four runs in the seventh on four hits to send the game into extra innings. Ciani delivered the game-tying hit in the inning.

Sener was 3-for-5 in the game for Juniata with two runs and an RBI. Hatfield and Carl each also had a pair of hits. Baurschmidt went 4-for-5 in the game with a pair of runs scored, while five other Presidents all knocked out two hits.

Washington & Jefferson?s rally did not come up short in game one as the Presidents rode a two-run seventh inning to the victory. Kelly Morrow delivered an RBI double to score two runs in the inning. The Eagles bounced back by putting four runs on the board in the sixth. Leymeister led off the frame with a solo home run. Schmitt contributed a two-run double later in the inning and an RBI single from Jackie Morley (Archbishop Wood/North Wales) gave the Eagles the lead. The Presidents then rallied with two runs in the seventh to claim the lead. A wild pitch brought home the first run of the frame, and then Schultz brought in the go-ahead run with a single.

Hobbs was charged with the loss in the game, as she pitched all seven innings and surrendered five runs, two earned on 10 hits. Rebecca Nachreiner got the win for the visitors as she allowed four runs over seven innings and struck out seven.

Schmitt led all Eagles with two hits in the game while finishing with two RBI. Schultz paced the visitors with three hits in the game and added an RBI and a run scored.

Juniata will play a Commonwealth doubleheader Saturday at Widener.

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Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.