Team Splits Season Opening Games As Team Falls To Marietta, 3-0, After Beloit Victory

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – Senior pitcher Kristin Cooper (Georgetown, Del./Sussex Central) tallied her sixth career double digit strikeout performance with 12 strikeouts as the Washington College softball team won its season opener over Beloit, 7-2, on Sunday morning at DiamondPlex at the Rebel Spring Games in non-conference action.  The Shorewomen would fall in their second and final game of the day to Marietta, 3-0.  The Shorewomen are 1-1 on the season.

Against Beloit (0-1), the Shorewomen put a four-spot in the bottom half of the first inning to take a 4-0 lead.  Junior Paige Briganti (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) came home on a fielding error for the game's first run with one out and sophomore Caitlyn Kirby (Glen Burnie, Md./Glen Burnie) scored on a fielder's choice to put Washington up by a pair.  With two away, senior Kelsey Graham (Dunkirk, Md./Northern) plated freshman Hannah Spohn (Port Orchard, Wash./South Kitsap) on a double to right-center to make it 3-0 and Graham came around to score on a base hit up the middle by junior Trish Langley (Little Silver, N.J./Red Bank Regional) to cap the four-run frame.

In the last of the second, Washington made it 5-0 when senior Suzanne Patinella (Fallston, Md./Maryvale Prep) hit a two-out single to right to send in Briganti to push the lead to 5-0.

The Buccaneers would get onto the scoreboard in the top half of the fourth when Bethany Stavrakas scored on a two-out single to right off the bat of Megan Salm to cut the Shorewomen lead to 5-1. 

Beloit would trim the lead to 5-2 in the top of the sixth with one away on a base hit to left by Tala Cornell that drove in Maddie Terlap.  The Buccaneers would load the bases with two outs, but freshman pitcher Taylor Harcum (Hebron, Md./Mardela) struck out Emily Malarski, who represented the go ahead run, to end the threat.

The Shorewomen would score in the last of the sixth when with one out Langley scored on a fielder's choice to restore the four-run lead at 6-2.  Junior Clare Hofstedt (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) would come home on a two-out fielder's choice to make it 7-2. 

Cooper was the story of the game as she struck out 12 Buccaneers in five innings for her sixth career double-digit strikeout performance.  The 12 strikeouts is one off of her career-best of 13 which she obtained on March 2, 2012 versus Randolph in her first collegiate start.  She allowed just a pair of hits and one unearned run in improving to 1-0 on the season.  She was relieved by Harcum who fanned four in two innings of work.  She allowed three hits, one walk and one run.  Cooper and Harcum combined for 16 punch outs in the game.

In the win, Cooper surpassed Emily Adams '09 for most innings pitched by a Shorewoman at 381.2.  Adams held the record at 377.  She also appeared in her 77th career game for WC to tie Meaghan Kimme '12 for all-time WC career appearances.

At the plate, Graham, Langley and Harcum each had two hits, while Briganti scored twice for the Shorewomen.

For the Buccaneers, Stavrakas had two hits.  In the circle, Salm took the loss and falls to 0-1.  She went the entire way, giving up three earned runs on 10 hits, walking one and striking out one.

The Shorewomen doubled up the Buccaneers in hits by a 10-5 margin.

Versus Marietta (1-0), the Pioneers took a 1-0 lead in the last of the first when with two outs Cierra Bloom singled up the middle to plate Courtney Kerwood.  The rally began for Marietta began after the first two were batters were out.

In the last of the second, the Pioneers scored two runs with two outs, after the first two were retired, on a Kerwood single to center that scored both Natalie Bender and Brianna Finck to extend the lead to 3-0.  The Kerwood base hit capped a string of three straight hits for Marietta.

The Shorewomen loaded the bases with two outs in the top half of the fourth inning, but Alison Kach got Briganti to pop out to Brey Mays in foul territory to end the threat.

Kach picks up the win in relief as she went the final 3 2/3 innings and allowed only one hit while striking out a pair.  The starting pitcher, Lauren Larrick went the first 3 1/3 innings, giving up four hits, walking three and fanning two in the combined shutout.

At the plate, Finck had two hits and Kerwood had two RBI as the Pioneers had seven hits in the win.

Cooper had two of Washington's five hits against the Pioneers.  In the circle, senior pitcher/outfielder Christine Anderson (Palmer Lake, Colo./Lewis-Palmer) took the loss and drops to 0-1 as she went two innings.  She allowed two earned runs on five hits and struck out one.  She was relieved by junior pitcher Sydnee Schorr (Easton, Md./Easton) who struck out six in four innings of work on just a base hit.

Marietta held a 7-5 advantage in hits in the contest. 

The Shorewomen are back in action tomorrow with a pair of games.  At 10:00 a.m. they will play Beloit for the second time in as many days and at 12:15 p.m. will go against #25 Simpson.