RALEIGH, N.C. – The Elmira College softball team traveled south to open their season at the D3 Triangle Classic. The Soaring Eagles went head-to-head with Oberlin College and North Carolina Wesleyan University. EC was seen fighting through a pair of tough games but dropped both, 3-0 and 8-0.
GAME ONE: SOARING EAGLES NARROWLY DROP CONTEST TO OBERLIN
The Soaring Eagles were able to muster a base runner in the bottom of the first on a
Teona Cruz single to right field but were unable to push her across. In the bottom of the first, the Squirrels were able to garner a pair of base runners and stolen bases. A groundout to the right side of the field and a sacrifice fly saw Oberlin take a 2-0 lead. The Soaring Eagles saw
Riley Storrs display plate discipline for a walk but left her stranded.
Savannah Persun served up three outs for the Soaring Eagles in the bottom of the second to send EC back on offense.
Both teams were at a stalemate until the bottom of the fourth. The Squirrels knocked a pair of doubles to push another run across, giving them a 3-0 advantage. The Soaring Eagles were unable to get the offense rolling until the top of the seventh, starting with a Storss single to left center. A hard-hit ball from
Ashlyn VanFleet forced an error for Oberlin, seeing both runners advance on a wild pitch to place them in scoring position. The Soaring Eagles were unable to push the runs across, leaving them to fall 3-0.
LEADERS
Offensively, Cruz,
Jocelyn Jean,
Kristen Cole, and Storrs each recorded one hit apiece.
Persun went the distance and pitched six innings, striking out one and only allowing four hits.
GAME TWO: ELMIRA FALLS TO NC WESLEYAN, 8-0
NC Wesleyan opened the game firing on all cylinders to score an early three runs on the Soaring Eagles. Elmira retaliated with a walk from
Rachel Lunger and
Kristen Cole, followed by a Cruz single to center to load the bases. The Soaring Eagles left the bases stranded to close the first inning. NC Wesleyan continued to add to their lead by tacking on another two runs to grow their advantage to 5-0. The bottom of the second saw Kendall Wallace capitalize on a defensive error to reach base but was left stranded.
Shelby Dawe worked in the circle to serve up three routine plays to send Elmira back onto offense. Both teams were at a stalemate until the top of the sixth, seeing NC Wesleyan tack on another run by capitalizing on errors and walks (6-0). The top of the seventh saw NC Wesleyan add another two runs to make the score 8-0 heading into Elmira's final opportunity. The bottom of the seventh saw Cole with a single to left field but was unable to be pushed across leaving EC to fall 8-0.
LEADERS
Offensively, Cole and Cruz were both 2-3 at the plate and with one walk apiece.
Victoria Bonitz recorded 1.2 innings for the Soaring Eagles followed by Dawe who went the rest of the way, 5.1 innings. Dawe was seen recording one strikeout.
UP NEXT
The Soaring Eagles travel to Oberlin College for a doubleheader on Saturday, March 7. Game times are slated for 1:00 and 4:00 PM.
