By: William Burns, Sports Editor
At 5 PM, on Wednesday, March 4, Saint Leo University welcomed Wilmington University on the University Softball Stadium for a doubleheader. This proved to be a wonderful evening for Saint Leo, as they grabbed their 16th and 17th wins of the season. On the other hand, Wilmington still has not recorded a win for their season. The Green and Gold completely obliterated their Californian opponents in the first game by a score of 11-0. Seniors Sarah Pauscher, Bethany Kursch, Kacie Kelly, and Sophomore Alli Jaquith had an outstanding first game.
In the first game, after a scoreless inning, the Green and Gold capitalized on the second inning. Alli Jaquith hit a single up the middle that Bethany Kursch would use to her advantage to get the Lions their first run on the scoreboard. Sarah Pauscher would then hit a homerun, allowing Jaquith, Kelly and herself to punish Wilmington with three additional runs, making the score 4-0. Junior Alexis Miniet’s double allowed Sophomore Emily Pilon to add a run to the score before Junior Maddy Lynn’s single allowed Miniet and Senior Sadi Avants to bring the score to 7-0. The second inning score gap might have already tipped off the spectators about the inevitable outcome of the game.
It is never too early to develop the patriotic sentiment.
The third inning was not as favorable to the Green and Gold as the second one had been. Both teams managed to inflict three outs on each other, resulting in a scoreless third inning. The fourth inning had a slow start but, nevertheless, Saint Leo managed to add four other runs on the scoreboard to put the scoreboard at 11-0. To Saint Leo’s advantage, Wilmington failed to score in the fifth inning, which resulted on the mercy rule being applied as the Lions had a 10-run lead. Sophomore Rachel Bean had been the sole pitcher for the Lions in the first game and even stole a base during the course of the first game.
Impressively, in Saint Leo’s 11 runs, 10 different runners had contributed by adding a run to the Lions’ large margin win. Alli Jaquith had been at bat three times, managed to hit during those three occurrences, moved twice on the field, and ended the first game with a run. Bethany Kursch had been at bat three times, hit twice, had two runs, and moved on the field once. Kacie Kelly had been at bat three times, hit once, had one run, but did not move from base to base. Sarah Pauscher had been at bat three times, hit once, had one run, and moved across the field three times.
Outcome: Saint Leo 11 – 0 Wilmington University
After the first game, the teams took a 30-minute break before starting the second one. Although the second game resulted in another win for the Green and Gold, this game had fewer runs. Nevertheless, this game was still rich in suspense. The teams traded blows as each managed to get their opponents out in multiple innings. Wilmington came close to scoring a run on two occasions; in the third inning and the seventh. Both times, Wilmington had three players on base at the same time. From the second inning to the last, Wilmington averaged two runners on base which definitely pressured the Lions. Fortunately for the Lions, they managed to avoid this threat. Sophomore Grace Spitulski’s hit allowed Maddy Lynn and Bethany Kursch to secure the lead with two runs in the second inning.
The Softball Fans’ loyalty speaks volumes, as they spent nearly four4 hours cheering nonstop.
Sarah Pauscher, who had been at bat three times in the second game, managed to hit only once out of those three times and did not move from base to base. Maddy Lynn, who had been at bat three times also, hit once and, while she did not move from base to base, she managed to register one of the runs for the Green and Gold. Grace Spitulski had been at bat once, had one hit, and moved twice from base to base. While she did not score a run, her hit made it possible for Lynn and Kursch to score the runs that won the game. Kacie Kelly had been at bat three times but did not record a hit. Rachel Bean’s spot as a pitcher was handled by Sadi Avants and Madi Mott for the second game.
Saint Leo’s next games are away from home at Rollins College. Rollins is currently ranked third while Saint Leo is ranked 17th. The next home game for the Green and Gold will be on March 10 and will be a double header against the Minnesota Duluth.
Outcome: Saint Leo 2 – 0 Wilmington University
