CARLISLE, Pa.- The Franklin & Marshall softball team (14-18, 6-6 Centennial Conference) split Saturday's trip to Dickinson (11-19, 6-8 Centennial Conference) with a 12-2 victory in six innings to open the day before falling 9-0 in five innings in the second contest.
Game One
F&M led by 5-2 when they struck for seven runs in the top of the sixth, opening the day with a 12-2 victory in six frames.
Abby Favazza was among four Diplomats with multiple RBI, although she led F&M by going 2-for-2 with three RBI and one triple.
Kate DelGrippo was a homer shy of the cycle, hitting 3-for-4 with two RBI, one double, and one triple.
Morgan Risnychok and
Madison Martin also recorded two hits and two RBI apiece. In total, F&M recorded 16 hits across the six innings.
Ainsley McClure pitched all six innings for the Diplomats, allowing two earned runs on three hits with five strikeouts.
Delgrippo doubled and
Sara Hess reached on a bunt single to begin a three-run second inning.
Ellie LoPiccolo plated the first run on a single, Favazza brought one more run home on a squeeze bunt, and Martin completed the scoring with an RBI groundout.
McClure struck out the side in the second inning, with just one runner reaching on an infield error.
The Diplomats added two more runs in the fifth inning, as Favazza and Martin singled to kick things off.
Natalia Garza advanced both runners on a sacrifice bunt, while
Gabby Mundy and Risnychok each scored one run to bring F&M's lead to 5-0.
Dickinson closed the gap to 5-2 in the bottom half of the fifth. They began the inning with a single and RBI double before adding a second run with a one-out sacrifice fly.
The Diplomats countered with seven runs on seven hits in the sixth inning. Favazza opened the scoring with a two RBI triple followed by an RBI single from Martin. Risnychok made it 9-2 with a sacrifice fly, while
Lauren Steiner scored the run necessary to force the run rule with a single to right field. DelGrippo capped the scoring with a two RBI triple to wrap up a 12-2 victory.
Game Two
Dickinson scored two runs in the second, four in the third, and three in the fourth while keeping F&M to four hits in a 9-0 run rule defeat to conclude the doubleheader.
Risnychok had two of F&M's hits, while Garza reached base safely twice on a single and a walk.
F&M looked to claim an early lead following Garza's leadoff single and a sacrifice bunt from Mundy. Risnychok singled to get runners on the corners, but a 4-6-3 double play on the next at-bat ended the inning.
Dickinson added two runs in an error-ridden second inning for the Diplomats, as the F&M conceded the runs on three walks, three errors, and a wild pitch before leaving the bases loaded on a groundout.
The Red Devils added four more runs on seven hits in the third inning, totaling six singles and a triple in the frame.
Two of F&M's four hits came in the fourth inning on singles from Risnychok and Hess, although they were unable to break the shutout.
Dickinson reached the run rule in the fourth inning. A walk, sacrifice bunt, and back-to-back singles scored the first run, while the critical eighth run scored on a wild pitch. An RBI trouble concluded scoring to give the hosts a 9-0 advantage entering the fifth.
Favazza was hit by a pitch to begin the inning before a strikeout, lineout, and flyout confirmed a second game decided by the run rule.
Up Next
The Diplomats begin the last week of the regular season by hosting Ursinus on Tuesday, April 21, at 3:00 p.m.
