CANTON, Ohio – The Davis & Elkins College Softball team earned another split with Malone on Monday, winning game one 10-3 before falling 5-4 in the second game to split the season series.
The Senators jumped out to an early lead in game one, as
Danielle Norton's RBI double put D&E ahead as
Alyssa Cairns came around to score in the top of the first.
In the next at bat,
Brittany Wade hit a sacrifice fly to score
Kelsie Millner and
Morgan Tandarich followed it up with a double to right field, scoring Norton to cap the scoring in the inning for the Senators.
With the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the second, Wade drove in two more runs with a single to center, scoring Cairns and
Samantha Smith, giving the Senators a 5-0 lead.
However, the hosts would answer back with three hits in the bottom of the second to score three runs.
Smith would extend the Senators lead in the third with an RBI single up the middle to score Tanadarich and make it 6-3 in favor of the visitors.
Norton would extend the lead with a homerun to lead off the fourth inning. Later in the inning,
Katie Manson would pick up a pair of RBIs on a double to left center, scoring Wade and Tandarich and extending the Senators lead to 9-3.
Cairns would add an RBI double in the sixth inning, scoring Smith to make it 10-3 for the Senators.
Lapallo earned the win, tossing all seven innings.
In game two, the Senators jumped out to another early lead, plating two runs in the top of the first inning as Wade doubled to right center, scoring Millner and Cairns.
After Malone score one in the bottom of the second, the Senators responded with three straight singles by Millner, Norton and Wade to load the bases with no outs.
Rhetta Persinger then picked up an RBI on a sacrifice fly to left field, but the Senators would strand runners at second and third.
The Pioneers would then strike back in the bottom of the third, with a two-run homerun capping up a three-run inning for the hosts, who took a 4-3 lead.
After a scoreless fourth inning,
Amy Fincham would tie the game, scoring from third on a single up the middle by Persinger.
However, Malone would get back in front in the bottom half of the fifth, capitalizing on an error from the Senators, scoring on a wild pitch and throwing error to retake the lead, 5-4.
The Senators would get runners on first and second with back-to-back one-out singles, but Davis & Elkins was unable to get the tying run across the plate with a fly out and groundout to end the game.
Sara Tobin was dealt the loss, giving up one unearned run in 1.2 innings of work in relief.
Allie Lapallo pitched 2 innings in relief as well, giving up just one hit with two strikeouts.
Davis & Elkins will return to action on Friday, as the Senators host Ursuline College in a G-MAC series at Joni Smith Field. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. in the doubleheader.
