SCRANTON, Pa. – Saint Elizabeth University rallies late to take game one of the 2023 ECAC Division III Softball Championship, 5-2, over host Marywood University this morning.  The Eagles will face number one seed Penn College at 1:30 pm today while the Pacers will play in their first elimination game today at 4 pm. The Eagles improved to 27-12 while the Pacers fall to 26-17.

Both teams went scoreless for the first four innings until the Pacers took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth. With one out, Jessica Hanley singled to second and then was lifted for pinch runner Miranda Taveras. A passed ball allowed Taveras to take second and she later moved to third when Abbey Stalter singled to third. She later moved to second to give the Pacers two runners in scoring position.  Following a foul out to the catcher for the second out of the inning, an error by the shortstop allowed Taveras to score the first run of the game and send Stalter to third. Mara Hamm was safe at first on the play before the inning ended.

The Pacers tacked on their second run in the bottom of the sixth to push its lead to 2-0.

Going into the final inning and its last opportunity to stay out of the elimination bracket of the tournament Saint Elizabeth scored five unanswered runs in the top of the seventh. Eagle Julia Stewart got things going when she singled through the left side. She later advanced to second when Carly Bressler singled up the middle. A flyout to left was deep enough to allow Stewart to tag up and move to third and give the Eagles runners on the corners with one down.

Kaitlynne McCarthy’s RBI single to center allowed Stewart to score and cut the lead to one. Bressler moved to second on the play.  With the tying run 120 feet away, Savannah VanWinkle’s bunt single loaded the bases for Saint Elizabeth. This then set up an RBI walk from Maya Yesalonis to score the tying run all with one out and keep the bases full of Eagles. Samantha Hemhauser’s double down the left field line plated two runs to give the Eagles its first lead of the game. A sacrifice fly to center by Katerra Lutes allowed Yesalonis to score and make it a 5-2 Eagles lead before a strikeout ended the rally.

Starting pitcher McCarthy picked up the win to improve to 17-5 on the season for the Eagles. She allowed six hits over seven innings of work while giving up two runs (one earned) and fanning two in the process.

Hamm took the loss for the Pacers to fall to 11-10 on the year. She allowed five runs (all earned) while giving up seven hits in seven innings. She fanned 11 in the process.

The Eagles were led by Hemhauser who finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a double. Saint Elizabeth had five different players score.
Tori Para and Jessica Hanley each finished with two hits each for the Pacers. The two combined going 4-for-6. The team’s only extra-base hit came from catcher Ashdon Clark who finished 1-for-3 with a run scored.