Mia Collarini Wascura	Megan Zinn	Molly Hampsey

Box Score Game One | Box Score Game Two 

JESSUP, Pa. -- The University of Scranton softball team scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth inning in game one of a doubleheader with Wilkes on Tuesday at the Jessup Youth Sports Complex, rallying for a 3-1 victory. In the second game of the day, Wilkes held on for a 5-4 win to split the non-conference set.

With the results, Scranton moved to 13-12 overall, while Wilkes went to 19-8 overall with the game two victory.

The games also served as the Royals programs Strike Out Cancer game, in which donations were taken throughout the contest that will go toward Breast Cancer Awareness.

In game one, opportunistic hitting with two outs in the sixth gave the Royals the win, which was the 100th career victory for Scranton head coach Mia Collarini Wascura.

After three and a half scoreless innings, Scranton broke the tie in the bottom of the fourth, as junior starting pitcher Morgan Rentzheimer (Laurys Station, Pa./Parkland) helped out her own cause by smacking an RBI single that scored freshman Casey DeSarno (Wall Township, N.J./Wall) to give the Royals a 1-0 lead.

In the sixth, Scranton still led by one, but a solo home run by Wilkes tied the game up at 1-1 entering the bottom of the frame.

There, with two outs and senior Angelica Titor (Bellerose Village, N.Y./Floral Park Memorial) on second base, freshman Megan Zinn (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) came up huge, as she roped an RBI single that gave the Royals a 2-1 lead.

Next up for Scranton was sophomore Molly Hampsey (Tunkhannock, Pa./Tunkhannock), who proceeded to hit an RBI double to left center, scoring Zinn to give the Royals a 3-1 cushion entering the seventh inning.

In the seventh, the Lady Colonels stranded a runner on third base (that moved there on a triplle with one out), as Rentzheimer was able to retire the game-tying run twice to earn the victory.

Overall, Zinn (2-for-3) and Hampsey (2-for-4) had multiple hit games for Scranton at the top of the lineup. Rentzheimer pushed her record to 9-5 overall with the complete game victory, allowing one run on nine hits, while striking out four in the win.

In game two, the Royals plated single runs in the bottom of the second and third innings to go up 2-0 entering the fourth. Senior Kaitlin O'Sullivan (Bensalem, Pa/Nazareth Academy) had an RBI single in the second for Scranton, while Hampsey posted another RBI double in the third to put Scranton up two.

Wilkes, however, came back, scoring a pair of runs in both the fourth and sixth innings to take a 4-2 lead into the bottom of the sixth. There, Scranton plated a run on an RBI single by Titor, but the Royals stranded the bases loaded without doing anymore damage to trail by one entering the seventh.

In the final frame, Wilkes scored a critical run with two outs to go up 5-3 entering the bottom of the seventh. That run proved to be the game-winner, as Scranton scored again on an RBI sacrifice fly by senior Jacqueline DeSarro (Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic), scoring senior Christine Kiefer (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) in the process to cut the Wilkes lead down to 5-4.

With a runner on third base and two outs, DeSarno had a chance to tie the game. But, she popped out to shallow center field to end the game, as Wilkes held off the comeback bid by the Royals to salvage a doubleheader split.

Overall, Hampsey and senior Shannon Stricker (Morrisville, Pa./Conwell Egan) were both 2-for-4 in the win, while Titor was 2-for-2.

The University of Scranton softball team returns to action on Thursday, hosting Penn State Hazleton in another non-conference doubleheader at the Jessup Youth Sports Complex. First pitch in game one is set for 5 p.m.

--ROYALS--