WORCESTER, Mass. – The Holy Cross softball team split a doubleheader with Army for the second consecutive day, earning a 2-1 win in the first game before falling 1-0 in the second. The Crusaders earn the series split with the Black Knights after splitting the first two games as well in West Point on Saturday. Holy Cross' season comes to a close, while Army will prepare for the Patriot League Tournament as the four-seed.
Kelly Nelson pitched all 14 innings on the day, striking out five and giving up zero earned runs in the process. The performance caps off her stellar weekend that saw the junior earn two wins, one of them a no-hitter, strike out 13, and allow zero earned runs over 21 innings of work.
Bella Jankowski had a hit and the game-winning two RBI in the first game of the day.
Bailey Chavez,
Erin Bengston, and Jess Mott all also had a hit on the day with Chavez and Bengston each scoring one run and Mott and Chavez both drawing one walk.
GAME 1: HC 2, AWP 1
The Crusaders got on the board early in game one as Chavez started the home half of the first with a walk and Bengston followed with a single. Jankowski drove them both home with a two-out single to left to give Holy Cross the 2-0 lead.
Army would get one back in the third when two consecutive errors by the Crusader defense put runners on second and third with one out. One would come home on a sac fly to left, but Nelson got a ground out to second to prevent further damage.
The Black Knights would put one baserunner on in each inning from the fourth through the seventh, but could not bring them home. Nelson stranded a runner on second in the fifth and, after allowing a leadoff single, recorded three straight outs to seal the win and strand a runner on third in the seventh.
GAME 2: AWP 1, HC 0
Game two was another pitcher's duel with neither side scoring until the seventh inning. Before it got to that point, both teams threatened in the sixth.
The Black Knights loaded the bases in the top half after three singles, but Nelson got the final two outs with the bases loaded with a pop out to third and a fly out to left. Then in the bottom half, Chavez got on with a two-out single and Mott moved her over to third with a single of her own to left center. Bengston would follow and sent a ball to the warning track in center, but it fell just a few feet short of the fence.
In the top of the seventh, Army would score one after a single and an error. Nelson again, like in game one, limited the damage with a fly out and a strikeout to end the inning. The Crusaders could not respond in the bottom half and the game ended, 1-0.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Nelson's 21 innings without allowing an earned run this weekend dropped her ERA on the season to a career-best 1.84. Her 13 strikeouts put her at 120 on the season and 370 in her career, 209 behind first place in program history. In her only true full season as a Crusader, Nelson set a program record of 208 Ks as a freshman.
- The Crusader defense finished the year with 14 double plays turned, tied for the third most in program history. Holy Cross turned 16 double plays in 2010 and 15 in 2012. Their .50 double plays per game rank them inside the top 10 in the nation.
