Fayette Softball Earns Sweep Over CCAC South in Season Opener
March 14, 2012
HOPWOOD, Pa. - Penn State Fayette earned season opening wins over the Community College of Allegheny County South campus as head coach Bethany Novotny collected her first and second career wins in the process. The Roaring Lions (2-0) swept CCAC South, 9-0 and 17-2, as both games were ended in the fifth inning under the eight-run rule.
Freshman Katie Volek (Smithfield, Pa.) pounded out four hits and cracked two home runs, both in game two, while driving in five runs on the afternoon. Fellow freshman Shelby Dziak (Eighty Four, Pa.) added four hits and five RBIs of her own while freshman Moriah Kromer (Mount Pleasant, Pa.) added four RBIs. Kromer also picked up the win on the mound in game one, going four shutout innings while giving up only four hits.
After a scoreless inning and a half in the opener, Fayette opened the scoring with a five-run second inning as the Roaring Lions sandwiched walks around an error to load the bases. Freshman Samantha Virgillo (Connellsville, Pa.) singled to left to plate one, and an error on a Kromer hit scored another and left the bases loaded for Dziak, who cracked a double to clear the bases and give Fayette a 5-0 cushion. An error helped score a sixth run for the Roaring Lions in the bottom half of the third, before another three runs in the home half of the fourth gave Fayette a 9-0 lead. Freshman Jessica Stairs (Mount Pleasant, Pa.) struck out the side to complete a perfect fifth inning and close out game one.
Game two saw another scoreless inning and a half, before Volek stepped to the plate and took a pitch over the left-center field wall for her first collegiate home run to give Fayette a 1-0 lead. CCAC South tied the score at 1-1 in the top half of the third, but the Roaring Lions answered with eight runs in the home half of the inning. Kromer drove in junior Kaitlyn Novak (Bobtown, Pa.), who reached on a walk and advanced to third on two passed balls, before Volek smacked her second homerun over the left-center field fence. The runs kept coming, as the Roaring Lions added eight more in the bottom of the fourth to grab a 17-1 lead. The first four batters in the fourth reached for Fayette, including singles from Stairs, freshman Stacey Riggar (Uniontown, Pa.) and Dziak. Junior Kasey Ruble (Fairchance, Pa.) and Novak each singled home a run before Kromer tripled off the center field fence to clear the bases. Volek followed with a triple of her own to score Kromer before sophomore Stephanie Longo (Point Marion, Pa.) added a double to drive in Volek and cap Fayette's scoring. CCAC South tacked on a run in the top of the fifth, but it was not enough to extend the game as Ruble earned the win after relieving Stairs in the third inning.
Fayette travels to Salem International on Sunday, March 18 for a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m. in a non-conference match-up.