MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. – Cornell softball split two games in its return to action at The Spring Games, in Madeira Beach, Fla. on Saturday, Feb. 22, falling Georgetown (3-2) in the morning before defeating Merrimack (10-6) in the afternoon. The Big Red moves its record to 2-1, with two games still to play in the Sunshine State.
Game One
Cornell's bats were dormant for six innings as Georgetown mounted a 2-0 lead heading into the top of the seventh inning.
Entering the seventh inning with just one hit to its name, Cornell rallied to score two runs before falling just short of the comeback.
Bridgette Rooney singled to left center to opening the inning before she was brought around to score of
Hanna Crist's second home run in as many days.
Olivia Rooney,
Celia Macari and
Miranda Lawson all kept the momentum going with singles in the visitor's half of the inning, but nobody was able to score, leaving three on base to end the game.
Gabrielle Maday (0-1) was handed the loss in her collegiate debut, but performed well in the circle allowing just four hits and two unearned runs across five innings while striking out three. Georgetown's London Diller (2-6) threw a near-perfect game through six innings, finishing with two earned runs on six hits, while striking out seven over seven innings pitched.
Teams were scoreless heading into the home half of the fifth when the Hoyas tacked on two two-out runs. Georgetown expanded its lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the sixth with a two-out double.
Game Two
The Big Red hitting got going early in game two, getting out to a 7-0 lead through four innings. Crist stayed hot at the plate with an RBI single in the first to open the scoring.
Emily McKinney hit a key three-run home run in the third, scoring
Bridgette Rooney and
Maicie Levitt, to extend Cornell's lead to 4-0.
Cornell added three more runs to the board in the fourth, starting with a lead-off home run from
Brianna Straley. Rooney singled to score
Julie Hilcken in her first collegiate start and McKinney plated Levitt on a single.
Merrimack started to produce in the top of the sixth, batting around and scoring six runs to cut Cornell's lead to 7-6. A mid-inning error resulted in four unearned runs charged to Big Red starter
Mia Burd (2-0).
The Big Red battled back with three runs of its own in the bottom of the sixth, scoring two after Crist reach on an error and one following a Macari single to right field.
In the circle for Cornell, Burd moved to 2-0, picking up the second win of her rookie campaign. Burd threw five scoreless innings before running into a tough sixth framing, exiting the game after 5 2/3 innings.
Ashley Delany (1) picked up her first save of the season, shutting the door on Merrimack's comeback with a crucial flyout to center in the top of the sixth. Delany pitched a hitless 1 1/3 innings, allowing a lone baserunner via walk.
McKinney was 3-for-3 at the plate in game two, while Rooney was 2-for-3. Rooney continued a strong start to her senior campaign that has her hitting .818 through three games.
Up Next: Cornell concludes its time in Madeira Beach, Fla. with a pair of games on Sunday, Feb. 23. The Big Red first face Manhattan at 9 a.m. before turning around to play Stony Brook at 11:30 a.m. Manhattan is 2-2 in Madeira Beach, while Stony Brook has opened its season with a spotless 3-0 record.
