Meaghan Dowdell	Jennifer Sweeney

HUNTINGDON, Pa. - The University of Scranton softball team used late-inning scoring runs to storm past Juniata on Saturday, as the Royals captured a pair of shutout victories (7-0 & 9-0) in Landmark Conference action.

With the victories, the Royals moved to 18-4 overall and in the Landmark. Winners of six games in a row, the doubleheader sweep clinched the second seed in the upcoming Landmark Conference playoffs for Scranton, as the Royals will host a pod of games at Magis Field next weekend. Juniata fell to 7-15 overall and in the Landmark with the losses.

Game One | Box Score

After a scoreless first four innings in game one, Scranton exploded for four runs in the fifth and three more in the seventh, as senior pitcher Jennifer Sweeney (Wind Gap, Pa./Dumont) tossed her third straight, complete game, shutout.

Still scoreless entering the fifth, the Royals used the long ball in the frame to go ahead.

First, freshman Sarah Stepnowski (Monroe Twp., N.J./Monroe) smacked a three-run homer with one out, scoring graduate student Casey DeSarno (Wall Township, N.J./Wall) and sophomore Lauren Cawley (Duryea, Pa./Scranton Prep) to give Scranton a 3-0 lead. The home run was the first of Stepnowski's career at Scranton.

Then, after an out, junior Heather Alich (Bath, Pa./Northampton Area) roped her fourth home run of the year, as the solo shot put Scranton up, 4-0, after four and a half innings.

In the seventh and still holding a four-run edge, the Royals put Juniata away with three runs. Alich had an RBI single in the frame, while sophomore Isabella Gorzkowski (Pittston, Pa./Scranton Prep) finished off the scoring with a two-RBI single with two outs.

This was more than enough run support for Sweeney, who allowed five hits in seven innings of work while striking out five to move to 11-2 on the year in the pitching circle.

Overall in game one, Gorzkowski and Alich both went 2-for-4 with two RBI's, apiece. Stepnowski scored twice in the win, as well.

Game Two | Box Score

Game two saw the Royals once again pull away late, as senior Meaghan Dowdell (Parlin, N.J./Old Bridge) had her best game of the season in the pitching circle to once again keep the Eagles off the scoreboard.

In the first and third innings, Sweeney opened the scoring with a pair of RBI singles, giving Scranton a 2-0 edge early. After freshman Meredith Lee (Nanuet, N.Y./Nanuet) scored on a wild pitch in the fourth to make it a 3-0 game, Sweeney had another RBI hit in the fifth, this time smacking an RBI double to make it a 4-0 game.

Later in the fifth, Alich had an RBI on a sacrifice fly, while senior Maggie Donnelly (New Hyde Park, N.Y./Our Lady of Mercy Academy) finished off the scoring in the frame with an RBI single to put the Royals up, 6-0.

Finally, in the seventh, Donnelly put a cherry on top of the doubleheader sweep with a three-run home run. The round-tripper was the second of the season for Donnelly and the third of her career at Scranton, as well.

While the Royals' offense was potent once again in game two, they didn't need to do much after all, as Dowdell tossed a complete game shutout to move to 7-2 overall for the year. She allowed just two hits in the victory while striking out three to finish off a dominating day for the Royals.

Offensively in game two, Sweeney went a perfect 4-for-4 with three RBI's and two runs scored, while Stadler was 3-for-4 with three runs scored. Donnelly was 2-for-4 with four RBI's and a run scored, while Cawley finished off game two going 2-for-3.

The University of Scranton softball team concludes their 2021 regular season tomorrow at home vs. Juniata in a Landmark doubleheader. First pitch for game one is set for 1 p.m.

--ROYALS--