Courtesy of Susquehanna and Elizabethtown Sports Information
SELINSGROVE, Pa. – The No. 1 seed Susquehanna softball team opened play at the 2014 Landmark Conference Tournament with a 10-2 win over No. 4 seed Elizabethtown.
Lauren Creamer (Langhorne, Pa./Neshaminy) came through with a three-run, pinch-hit home run to cap off an eight-run fifth inning to end the game 10-2 in favor of SU. Bridget Rafter (Highlands, N.J./Henry Hudson Regional) and Alyssa Cantalini (Kitchener, Ontario/St. David Catholic Secondary) both drove in two runs on one hit while leadoff hitter Amanda Neveroski (Toms River, N.J./Toms River North) went 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
Starting pitcher Morgan Lewis (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock North) gave up just two runs on four hits to pick up her 12th win of the season.
The Crusaders plated two runs in the first inning on a Sam LaCoe (Clarks Summit, Pa./Abington Heights) RBI single and a Blue Jays fielding error.
In the third, Elizabethtown's Becky Becher reached on a fielder's choice with two outs. The next batter, Payton Marunich, knocked a double to left center, which was enough for Becher to come around and score to cut the deficit in half, 2-1.
E-town tied the game in the fourth inning on a one-out RBI single by Jordan Nowacki. Kaylee Werner singled to lead off the inning and then advanced to second on a groundout. Nowacki then followed with a base hit up the middle to score Werner.
Blue Jays' pitcher Laura Tomasetti held Susquehanna to two hits between the second and fourth innings, but the Crusaders found their bats in the fifth.
Cantalini drove in two runs on a double to left center while Rafter's single down the right field line drove in two more runs. Creamer then ended the game with a three-run shot to left center, her team-leading fifth homer of the season.
With two runners on and five runs already across the plate, Lauren Creamer hit a three-run home run, ending the game in five innings, 10-2.
Marunich and Nowacki were both 1-for-2 at the plate with an RBI each. Becher and Werner also had one hit for the Jays.
The loss sends Elizabethtown into an elimination game tomorrow morning at Susquehanna University against Moravian, who lost 3-0 to Catholic in game two. The Jays and Greyhounds are scheduled to face-off at 10 a.m.