Tweet #PostSB

WATERBURY, Conn. – The Post University softball team split its first Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) doubleheader with Dominican College on Friday, Mar. 27.

Game One – Post 5, Dominican 2
First-year Emily Schaffer (Hazlet, N.J.) got the start in the circle for the Eagles in game one of the doubleheader. Schaffer threw a gem allowing just two runs (one earned) in a complete game win.

Despite giving up her first walk in 22.3 innings, Shaffer showed a strong command of the strike zone and allowed the Eagle defense to make the plays in the field. She struck out three and allowed just five hits.

Sophomore Kristen Owens (Exton, Pa.) reached on an error to lead off the game. Owens swiped second base and advanced to third on the throw. First-year Korie McDonald (Middleboro, Mass.) found a hole in the right side of the infield for an RBI base knock to give the Eagles an early 1-0 lead.

Schaffer retired the first six Dominican batters of the game and kept them off the scoreboard through five innings. Shaffer led off the fourth inning and contributed to her cause with a double to right field.  The Eagles tacked on two runs in the inning with RBIs from first-year Nicole Venturini (Scituate, R.I.) and junior Kaitlin Iacomini (Pleasant Valley, N.Y.).

The Chargers put together a two out rally in the sixth inning when Elontay Collins (San Diego, Calif.) reached on an error and came around to score on a RBI double from Jillian Regan (Staten Island, N.Y.). Schaffer worked herself out of trouble with minimal damage.

The Eagles brought seven batters to the dish in the seventh for two more insurance runs with a sacrifice fly from junior Kayla Kresley (Alburtis, Pa.) and a RBI single by sophomore Jessica Grzywna (Philadelphia, Pa.).

With no outs and the bases loaded in the bottom half of the seventh, Dominican managed one run before Shaffer struck out the final two batters to improve to 2-2. Jenna Maska (Warren, Mass.) was credited with the loss.

 Game Two – Dominican 4, Post 3 (F/8)
Junior Samantha Esque (Springfield, Pa.) got the ball in the second game, pitched 7.1 innings, and allowed four runs, none of which were earned. Esque struck out nine batters, walked two, and gave up 11 hits.

A leadoff triple in the bottom half of the first inning and a two-out Eagle error gave the Chargers an early 1-0 advantage. Post evened the score in the second inning when Kresley came through with a solo blast to centerfield.

The Chargers answered with a timely two-out RBI double in the bottom of the second to retake the lead 2-1. The Eagles went down in order in the next three innings. Dominican added another run in the fifth as a result of another Eagle error.

The Dominican starter Madison Dove (Cypress, Calif.) did not have an answer for Kresley. The Post slugger parked another two-run homer over the left field fence, her fourth of the year, to tie the score at 3-3 in the seventh inning.

The errors proved costly for the Eagles and in the bottom half of the eighth, the Chargers capitalized once more in walk-off fashion. Dominican's Emily Larsen (Midlothian, Ill.) came on in relief and earned her first win of the season, and Esque (2-2) was named the losing pitcher. The Eagles are 1-1 in CACC play, and 5-9 overall. Dominican stands at 3-1 in the CACC, and 7-9 overall.

On Deck: The Eagles play host to CACC-opponent Wilmington University on Sunday, Mar. 29. First pitch is scheduled for 10 a.m.