BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Senior Jennifer Sweeney (Wind Gap, Pa./Dumont) hit a home run in each game to break the school record for most career homers, headlining a wild afternoon at the 2021 Landmark Conference Softball Championship on Saturday at Moravian, which saw Scranton win the first game of the day, 10-6, before falling to the host Greyhound, 6-4, in the nightcap.

With the split, the Royals (24-6) and Greyhounds (29-1) will now play a winner-take-all Landmark Conference title game tomorrow in Bethlehem, with the first pitch slated for 11 a.m.

Scranton 10, Moravian 6 | Box Score

In the opening game of the championship series, the Royals shocked the Greyhounds, handing the fourth-ranked team in the country their first loss in 29 tries on the year.

To start, Scranton came out racing out of the gate, as junior Heather Alich (Bath, Pa./Northampton Area) had an RBI single in the top of the first to put the Royals up, 1-0. Then, freshman Sarah Stepnowski (Monroe Twp., N.J./Monroe) corked a two-RBI single that knocked home Alich and Sweeney, giving the Royals a 3-0 lead before Moravian was able to bat for the first time.

Moravian quickly countered, scoring one run in the first and three more in the second to take their first lead of the day at 4-3 after two innings. But, in the third, Sweeney tied the game right back up with a solo homer, as the blast made it a 4-4 game and was the 25th of Sweeney's career, putting her in a tie for the all-time program record with Mary Ann Tarantino (1980-83).

However, Scranton was not done doing damage in the third, as Stepnowski gave the Royals the lead back with an RBI single that scored Alich, making it a 5-4 Royals lead.

In the fourth, the Royals added two more runs on RBI hits, as a Sweeney RBI single scored freshman Jessica Stadler (Monmouth Junction, N.J./South Brunswick) and an Alich RBI single scored graduate student Megan Zinn (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) to increase the lead to 7-4.

After Moravian tacked on a run in the bottom of the fourth, Scranton essentially put Moravian away in the first game of the championship series with three important runs in the top of the fifth.

Zinn came up with the big hit of the frame, as her two-RBI single put Scranton up, 9-5. Then, Sweeney finished off an absolutely dominating game at the plate with an RBI double, putting the Royals up, 10-5, in the process.

From there, Sweeney (who pitched the game) and the Royals defense kept Moravian at bay the rest of the contest. In the seventh, the Greyhound scored one, but that was all, as Scranton coasted to a four-run win, putting themselves one victory away from a conference title.

Overall, the Royals smashed 13 hits in the victory, with Sweeney leading the way, going 3-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Alich was 3-for-4 with two RBI's and two runs scored, while Stepnowski was 2-for-4 with three RBI's. Sophomore Lauren Cawley (Pittston, Pa./Scranton Prep) rounded out the players with multiple hits in the first game of the day, finishing 2-for-4 with a run scored.

In the pitching circle, Sweeney (15-3) was the victor, tossing a complete game in which she gave up five earned runs on six hits while striking out two.

Moravian 6, Scranton 4 | Box Score

Needing a victory to head back to the Northeastern PA with the Landmark Championship, Scranton came up just a little short in the second game of the afternoon, as the Greyhounds staved off elimination (and a Royals comeback bid) to force Sunday's if necessary game.

After seeing Scranton jump out to the early lead in the first game of the day, Moravian struck first in the second, scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning to take a 2-0 lead into the second.

There, Sweeney hit her historic 26th career home run, another of the solo variety, to make it a 2-1 game. The round-tripper was also the eighth of the season for the senior utility player, as well.

But, Moravian struck over the next few innings, grabbing a 6-1 lead in the fourth after plating four runs, all of which were unearned after some costly defensive mistakes by Scranton.

Down by five entering the fifth, Alich got Scranton back into the game with a two-RBI single that scored graduate student Casey DeSarno (Wall Township, N.J./Wall) and Stadler to make it a 6-3 game entering the sixth. And there, Scranton scored again, as a Stadler RBI double scored sophomore Alyssa Segnello (Flanders, N.J./Mount Olive) to slice the Moravian lead down to 6-4.

In the final inning and needing at least two runs to keep the game going, Scranton gave Moravian a scare, loading the bases with one out. But, Moravian reliever Meghan Bauer wiggled out of the jam, forcing an infield pop-out, then a fly out to secure the victory for the Greyhounds.

Overall in the second game, Sweeney continued to be an absolute force at the plate, going 3-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored, while Alich continued to be just as hot at the dish, going 2-for-4 with two RBI's. Stadler, meanwhile, went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.

In the circle, senior Meaghan Dowdell (Parlin, N.J./Old Bridge) was the hard-luck loser for the Royals, as all six runs Moravian scored in the game were unearned. With the defeat, Dowdell is now 9-3 on the year.

Scranton and Moravian will clash for the Landmark Conference title tomorrow beginning at 11 a.m. The winner will earn the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament, as well.

For more information on the 2021 Landmark Softball Championship, click here.

--ROYALS--