Contact: Tim Ertle

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vs. Emmanuel (Game One) Box Score / vs. Emmanuel (Game Two) Box Score / vs. Montreat Box Socre

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. ­– The Ursuline College softball team was clicking on Friday (March 15) as the Arrows took both games of a doubleheader against Emmanuel College (Mass.) and then beat Montreat College (N.C.) 3-1 in a make-up from Tuesday to make it a three-for-three day.

UC came out on top of Emmanuel in game one by a score of 7-1 and kept rolling with an 8-0 victory in five innings to complete the sweep.

In the two games against Emmanuel, Ursuline hit .356 while the opposition came in at a .132 clip. The Arrows pushed 15 runs across home plate and the Saints only score was the result of an Ursuline error, therefore it was unearned.

Game One: Ursuline 7, Emmanuel 1
The Saints took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning when first baseman Kayla Howard was hit by UC junior pitcher Sarah Maxwell and came around to score on an Arrow miscue.

Ursuline bounced right back with a pair of runs in the second inning to take the lead for good. Freshman left fielder Rachel Wells walked to start the frame and eventually scored on a single by junior shortstop Michele Hare. Hare stole second and was brought home on a two-out single by senior catcher Samantha Gauvin.

The Arrows tacked on two more runs with two outs in the third when Wells homered to center field to bring in sophomore center fielder Sam Roberts who started the inning with a single through the left side.

With Maxwell in command in the circle, the Arrows put the game out of doubt with two more runs in the fifth. Roberts again got the party started with a single to center and then senior right fielder Megan Passwaiter walked. Head coach Sue Woodford saw both runners move up a station on a double-steal to put two in scoring position.

The next two batters had productive outs as junior first baseman Natalie Huggins and Wells each hit sacrifice flies to right field that brought both Roberts and Passwaiter around to make it a 6-0 game.

For good measure, the Arrows tacked on a run in the bottom of the sixth when freshman Danielle Almodiel – pinch running for Gauvin – used her speed to manufacture a run.

The seven runs were more than enough for Maxwell. She allowed just the one unearned run in seven innings and scattered three hits while issuing two free passes (one walk, one hit batter).

Maxwell’s seven strikeouts tied her career-high (at the time!).
 
Game Two: Ursuline 8, Emmanuel 0 (Five Innings)
The Arrows scored early and often on their way to a season-high eight runs in game two to complete the sweep of Emmanuel College.

Ursuline played a little small ball in the first inning: sophomore center fielder Sam Roberts started the game with a single to center and she moved up a base when senior right fielder Megan Passwaiter hit behind her on a groundout to the right side. Roberts advanced to third on a wild pitch and then scored the game’s first run when junior first baseman Natalie Huggins grounded out to the shortstop.

Sue Woodford’s club hung seven on the scoreboard in the second inning – all with two outs. Freshman third baseman Alison Porter singled up the middle before the next two batters were retired by Emmanuel pitcher Jennifer Garrity.

Porter did move to third after the two groundouts and she scored on senior catcher Samantha Gauvin’s single to grow the lead to 2-0. Senior second baseman Lauren Grana followed Gauvin’s lead with a two-out single and then Roberts was hit by a pitch to load the bases.

With the bags packed, Passwaiter singled to right to bring home classmates Gauvin and Grana and suddenly Ursuline led 4-0.

The Saints should have been out of the inning when Huggins reached on an error by the third baseman that was compounded by another error, this time by the second baseman, that brought in Roberts and Passwaiter.

Emmanuel had already seen Wells cause enough damage so they intentionally put her on base and Porter, who started the inning with a single, recorded another base knock that plated Huggins and Wells to make it an 8-0 game after just two innings.

Senior pitcher Ciara Seymour was cruising and allowed just one hit while walking one in her three innings of work. She faced one batter more than the minimum before giving way to sophomore Nicole Schierbaum who recorded the last six outs to preserve the victory.

Game Three: Ursuline 3, Montreat 1
Freshman left fielder Rachel Wells homered in the fourth inning and the Arrows tacked on two more in the fifth to provide more than enough offense for junior pitcher Sarah Maxwell.

Wells hit the big blast – her second of the year – with one out in the fourth. Three Cavalier errors in the fifth helped Ursuline widen the lead to 3-0.

Senior second baseman Lauren Grana singled to start the fifth and then sophomore center fielder Sam Roberts reached on an error. Junior first baseman Natalie Huggins knocked in Grana and Roberts swiped home to make it a three-run game.

Montreat’s Michelle Flores doubled and scored in the top of the sixth but Maxwell was in command and quickly put to rest any hope of a Cavalier comeback. She scattered six hits and walked a pair but had her stuff working to the tune of a career-high 11 strikeouts. By picking up the win, Maxwell improved to 3-1 in the circle on the young year.

Brittany Gallagher was dealt the loss for the Cavaliers after surrendering three runs, only one of which was earned. She allowed seven hits in her six innings of work and had four strikeouts.

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The week-long trip will conclude on Saturday (March 16) with a doubleheader against the University of St. Joseph that will begin at 9:30 a.m.