DUBOIS, Penn. – The W softball team remains in the winner's bracket after defeating Carlow University 4-1 in the first round of the USCAA Small College World Series.
The No. 3 seeded Owls (23-9) sent out their ace pitcher Madison Scoggin to take on the hard-throwing Carlow (18-21) pitcher Abby Stroud. What opened as a battle between defenses which featured 2.5 scoreless innings to open saw the Celtics land two hits to strand three runners in the first two frames of the game.
The W broke the stalemate in the bottom of the second with a two-out rally. With Emily Littlejohn making it on base with a single, Carolyn "Kendall" Wilkinson reaching on an error, and Anna Lloyd scoring a base on balls, Kandler Flora stepped to the plate with bases loaded and singled to left field to bring in Littlejohn. Heidi Matthews followed Flora with a single of her own to bring in two runners and give the Owls a 3-0 advantage entering the third.
The third and fourth innings passed uneventfully but the Owls found themselves with the tying runs on the base and just one out in the top of the fifth. The Celtics scored its first run of the game with a bases-loaded no out fielder's choice to cut The W's lead to 3-1. To close out the frame, Matthews at second base and Brianna Duquette at first executed a perfect double play for the remaining outs.
The lead for the Owls was expanded in the bottom of the sixth. After a single, a stolen base, and a wild pitch, Anna Lloyd was in prime scoring position. She scored the Owls last run of the game on a ground out with Megan James receiving credit for the RBI.
At the plate, Matthews, the senior second baseman, went 2-for-4 for two RBIs and Lloyd led the team in scoring on a 1-for-2 appearance for two runs.
On the mound, Scoggin threw her 13th complete game of the season. The senior from Bay Springs, Miss. delivered three strikeouts with two walks for one earned run and eight hits against.
The Owls will return to action tomorrow, Tuesday, May 14 at 2 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. CT when they take on Penn State University – Hazelton in their second round of the tournament. Follow the live stats and live stream: HERE.
