Big Innings Key Sweep of Penn State Scranton
April 22, 2012
DUNMORE, Pa. - Penn State Fayette softball bounced back to sweep Penn State Scranton in a doubleheader on Sunday, a day after falling out of the Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference playoff hunt.
Following a sweep at the hands of Penn State Hazleton, the Roaring Lions (13-15, 9-7 PSUAC) pounded out 32 hits over two games and scored three or more runs in five separate innings to top Scranton, 11-3 in five innings and 11-5, to cap their season with the most wins in the past six years.
Freshman Shelby Dziak (Eighty Four, Pa.) finished 6-for-8 on the afternoon, including three doubles and four RBIs to lead the Fayette bats.
Freshmen Moriah Kromer (Mount Pleasant, Pa.) and Jessica Stairs (Mount Pleasant, Pa.) each picked up a win in the doubleheader, giving them six and four wins on the season, respectively.
Kromer and Stairs also dominated at the plate for the Roaring Lions. Kromer went 5-for-8 over two games, smacking three triples and scoring four runs. Stairs finished 4-for-7 with two triples, four runs scored and five RBIs.
GAME ONE: Penn State Fayette 11, Penn State Scranton 3 (5 innings)
Fayette pounded out 17 hits in support of Kromer, jumping out early against the Lions in the opener, grabbing a quick 3-0 lead after the top half of the first inning.
Dziak singled and stole second, and would score on an RBI single from Stairs. Freshman Stacey Riggar (Uniontown, Pa.) followed with an RBI double, and eventually came around to score on an RBI groundout by sophomore Stephanie Longo (Point Marion, Pa.)
Scranton answered with two runs in the first, as two RBI groundouts cut the Fayette lead to 3-2.
Kromer set Scranton down in order in the second, and Fayette extended their lead in the third.
After three straight walks to begin the inning, senior Elizabeth D'Auria (Connellsville, Pa.) hit a two-run single to give the Roaring Lions a 5-2 lead. Sophomore Paige McWilliams (Connellsville, Pa.) added an RBI single next, and freshman Kaytee Cumberland (Leisenring, Pa.) singled to load the bases for the second time in the inning. Dziak then grabbed two of her RBIs with two outs in the inning, cracking a single to plate Cumberland and McWilliams and give Fayette an 8-2 lead on their first five-run outburst of the day.
Scranton didn't have an answer, managing a single in both the third and fourth, but Kromer shut down any threats.
Cumberland doubled to lead-off the fifth, and after a flyout, Dziak hit her first double of the day, scoring Cumberland. Kromer added an RBI triple and Stairs grounded out, but Kromer would score to give Fayette an 11-2 lead.
Scranton pushed across a run in the bottom of the fifth, but Fayette held the eight-run lead to invoke the mercy rule in game one.
Dziak finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored, while Kromer added two hits and an RBI and Stairs had two hits, two RBIs and two runs scored. D'Auria and Cumberland each added three hits for Fayette, and McWilliams smacked two singles to give the Roaring Lions six players with multi-hit games.
Kromer pitched a complete game to finish 6-7 on the year, giving up three runs on six hits, striking out four and walking one. Most of Scranton's damage came in the first inning, where they picked up three hits and two runs, but Kromer settled in to scatter three hits over the final four innings, and giving up just the one run with two outs in the fifth.
GAME TWO: Penn State Fayette 11, Penn State Scranton 5
Fayette started slow in game two, but started the scoring in the third with their second five-run inning on the day.
Cumberland doubled and scored on a one-out RBI single by sophomore Samantha Virgillo (Connellsville, Pa.). Dziak doubled for the third time, and second in game two, to score Virgillo, and Kromer and Stairs each smacked RBI triples for a 4-0 Fayette lead. Longo added an RBI single to give Fayette a 5-0 advantage.
Scranton would answer in their half of the third, as Tara Grabowski cracked a grand slam to make it 5-4. Fayette went down in order in the fourth, and the Lions added another run in the fourth to tie the game at 5-5.
Fayette grabbed the lead again in the fifth, as Stairs helped her own cause again with an RBI triple to score Kromer. Riggar added a sacrifice fly to center, and Fayette had the last lead they would need at 7-5.
Stairs shut down Scranton in the fifth and sixth, and Fayette added an RBI groundout by Cumberland in the sixth to extend the Fayette lead to 8-5.
Kromer hit her third triple of the day in the seventh inning, eventually scoring on an RBI groundout by Stairs. A single and stolen base by Riggar were followed by an RBI single from Longo, who finished with three RBIs on the day, and Longo eventually scored on a stolen base attempt.
Stairs allowed two hits in the seventh, but stranded both runners to give Fayette the comfortable 11-5 win. Stairs finished the complete game performance with five runs on 14 hits, striking out five and walking four.
Fayette had 15 hits in game two, as each Roaring Lion notched at least one hit. Longo finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs, scoring a run. D'Auria finished the day 4-for-6 with a run scored and two RBIs in her final games as a Fayette student-athlete.
The Roaring Lions finish with 13 wins in 2012, their most in six seasons, and missed out on the PSUAC Tournament by one game in head coach Bethany Novotny's first season at the helm. Fayette had four non-conference wins on the season, their most ever.