WORCESTER, Mass. – The Holy Cross softball team swept a Patriot League doubleheader against Lafayette on Senior Day Saturday afternoon on Freshman Field winning game one 3-1 before taking game two 2-0.
The win, the 20th of the campaign for the Crusaders (20-29, 7-10 PL) gives them their fourth 20+ win season in program history and first since 1999 (24-25, 12-8 PL). The Leopards (10-36, 2-15 PL) look to avoid the series sweep tomorrow.
During the opening contest, senior
Jessie Nagel bashed a three-run home run for the Crusaders' only runs of the showdown. Senior
Bailey Chavez saw her hitting streak end at nine games after an 0-for-2 performance in game two.
During the second game, sophomore
Megan Yurchick's scoreless streak reached 15.2 innings and she was relieved by senior
Kelly Nelson with two on and one out in the seventh inning. Nelson retired the final two batters picking up her conference-leading third save of the year.
In a pregame ceremony, the Crusaders honored their four seniors,
Erin Bengston,
Bailey Chavez,
Jessie Nagel, and
Kelly Nelson for their contributions to the program and campus community.
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GAME ONE: CRUSADERS 3, LEOPARDS 1 (FINAL):
IN THE CIRCLE:
- Kelly Nelson: W (13-16), complete game, 10 strikeouts, earned run, two hits allowed, walk.
- Kinzi Van Wyk: L (5-15), seven hits allowed, three earned run, two walks, two strikeouts.
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STEPPING TO THE PLATE:
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Trying to sacrifice her teammate over, Chavez laid down a bunt and legged it out for her ninth straight game with a hit.
- Holy Cross threatened in the first and second innings, but double plays both times thwarted the scoring threats.
- Some two-out hitting in the bottom of the third, a Bengston double to center coupled with a sophomore Claire McCann four pitch walk set the stage for Nagel and she belted a 1-0 offering over the left field fence for the 3-0 Crusader lead.
- Lafayette brought home a run in the top of the fourth when Harvey doubled with no outs for their only tally of the game. Nelson settled down and struck out the next three batters to end the inning.
- Nelson struck out her 10th batter of the contest to clinch the win for Holy Cross.
GAME TWO: CRUSADERS 2, LEOPARDS 0 (FINAL):
IN THE CIRCLE:
- Sophomore Megan Yurchick: W (7-13), 6.1 innings, four hits allowed, four strikeouts.
- Kailee Sawai: L (2-4) 4.0 innings pitched, four hits allowed, two earned runs, two walks, one strikeout.
- Kelly Nelson: S (3), 0.2 innings, one strikeout. Â
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STEPPING TO THE PLATE:
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- In the first frame, the Crusaders loaded the bases and Yurchick slapped a single through the right side to help out her own cause for the 1-0 edge with two away.
- In the fourth, Bates dug into the batter's box and lifted an RBI single to center with two down plating pinch-runner, freshman Jena Whipple expanding the Crusader margin to 2-0.
- A two-out rally for the Leopards in the fifth had runners and the corners and two outs. Yurchick got a huge strikeout on seven pitches to strange a runner in scoring position.
- Looking to achieve her second straight complete game shutout, Yurchick ran into some trouble in the top of the seventh. Two straight fielding miscues put runners at the corners. Nelson came on in relief and induced a fly out to center and a seven pitch strikeout to lock down the win.
DUE UP:
- The Crusaders wrap up their season tomorrow on Freshman Field at noon.
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