ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Elizabethtown Sweeps Past Green Mountain and Gettysburg

Box score vs. Green Mountain
Box score vs. Gettysburg

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. --- The Elizabethtown College softball team posted its second doubleheader sweep of its spring break trip, defeating Green Mountain College 12-11 in eight innings in game one and downing Gettysburg College 4-1 in game two.

The opener saw the Blue Jays rally from a 9-1 deficit to force extra innings, then score three runs in the bottom of the eighth after falling behind 11-9 in the top of the eighth.

The Eagles led 9-1 midway through the third inning, but Elizabethtown tallied one run in the third, five in the fifth and another in the sixth to cut the Green Mountain lead to 9-8.

With the bases loaded, sophomore Sheri Hihn (Aston, PA/Sun Valley) hit what appeared to be a go-ahead grand slam, but time had been called as the pitch was delivered when a section of the fence behind home plate blew over. Denied a home run, Hihn instead settled for a sacrifice fly on the next pitch to tie the game at 9-9.

In the top of the eighth, Green Mountain took an 11-9 lead on a two-run home run by Amanda Malkin, but Elizabethtown came back with three runs in the bottom of the eighth on RBI singles by Hihn, sophomore Meghan Tooley (Bedford Hills, NY/Fox Lane) and sophomore Ryan Allard (Londonderry, NH/Londonderry), the latter giving the Blue Jays the win.

Sophomore Sarah Church (Aston, PA/Sun Valley) went 2-for-3 with two doubles, two walks and four runs scored for Elizabethtown, while junior Amanda Gordon (Vernon, NJ/Vernon Township) went 3-for-4 with a run scored and first-year student Kelsea Corrado (LaPlata, MD/LaPlata) finished 2-for-4 with a run scored.

Senior Alex Lee (Emmaus, PA/Emmaus) pitched 5 2/3 innings of relief to earn the win for the Blue Jays, allowing four hits and two runs while striking out 11. Kaitlin Petros, who earlier hit a three-run home run for the Eagles, took the loss after allowing eight hits and 10 runs in 4 1/3 innings of relief.

In game two, the Blue Jays (4-2 overall) erased a 1-0 deficit with two runs in the fourth, and added single runs in the fifth and sixth to defeat the Bullets (3-2 overall) for the first time since the 2004 season.

Senior Abbie Merrifield (York, PA/Dallastown) went 2-for-2 with two doubles and a run scored for the Blue Jays, while first-year student Shannon Marsico (Elizabethtown, PA/Elizabethtown) finished 2-for-4 with a run batted in.

Lee went the distance to gain the win for the Blue Jays, scattering four hits and allowing one unearned run while striking out four. Alyssa Karl took the loss for Gettysburg as she surrendered eight hits and two earned runs while fanning four.

Elizabethtown Coll. 12, Green Mountain Coll. 11
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Green Mountain Coll. 063 000 02 - 11 11 4
Elizabethtown Coll.. 101 502 03 - 12 12 2
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Brittany Holden, Kaitlin Petros (4) and Kaitlin Petros, Smithson (4); Lisa Malehorn, Alex Lee (3) and Abbie Merrifield. WP-Lee. LP-Petros. SO-BB: Holden 0-2, Petros 1-9; Malehorn 0-3, Lee 11-0. HR-Petros (GM), Amanda Malkin (GM).

Elizabethtown Coll. 4, Gettysburg College 1
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Gettysburg College.. 010 000 0 - 1 4 1 (3-2)
Elizabethtown Coll.. 000 211 x - 4 8 1 (4-2)
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Alyssa Karl and Abbe Miller; Alex Lee and Abbie Merrifield. WP-Lee. LP-Karl. SO-BB: Karl 4-2; Lee 4-3.