SCRANTON, Pa. – Freshman Alexa Bruno (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xaverian) delivered a go-ahead RBI double in the top of the eighth inning of game one and The University of Scranton softball team (19-19) split a doubleheader with the Marywood Pacers (20-14) on Monday at Pacer Field in Scranton.
The Royals took game one by a score of 6-5 before dropping a 9-1 decision in five innings in game two.
Scranton 6, Marywood 5 (F/8)
Sophomore Emmie Feltenberger (Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) was placed on second due to the international tiebreaker rule to start the top of the eighth and scored on Bruno's two-out RBI double to give the Royals the 6-5 victory.
Freshman Juliana Janezic (Southington, Conn./Cheshire Academy) then retired Marywood in the home half with an 8-6-4 double play and a game-ending lineout to secure her seventh win of the season.
Scranton had tied the game at five with a run in the top of the seventh as junior Kylie Rochford (Tinton Falls, N.J./Red Bank Catholic) led off the inning with a single and later came around to score on senior Sarah Stepnowski's (Monroe Twp., N.J./Monroe) RBI single.
Marissa Gregory was dealt the loss for the Pacers after allowing six runs (four earned) on 10 hits to go along with a walk and seven strikeouts in eight innings of work.
Janezic gave up five runs on six hits while walking one and fanning two in a complete game effort for the Royals.
In the top of the first, the Royals struck with an RBI bunt single from senior Jessica Stadler (Monmouth Junction, N.J./South Brunswick), but the Pacers quickly took the lead with two in the home half.
Stepnowski hit a two-run blast as part of a three-run third inning and senior Bailee Hendricks (Norristown, Pa./Norristown Area) added an RBI single to make it a 4-2 game. The home run was Stepnowski's team-leading fourth of the season.
From there, the Pacers regained the lead with three in the home half of the third to grab a 5-4 edge which stood until Scranton's late rally.
Stepnowski (3-4, HR, 3 RBI, R) and Bruno (2-4, 2B, RBI) each tallied multi-hit games for the Royals.
Marywood 9, Scranton 1 (F/5)
The Pacers took the lead for good with a five-run third inning and recorded the 9-1 win in the nightcap.
A run in the bottom of the first gave the hosts a 1-0 edge before Scranton tied the game in the top of the third as Rochford reached on a fielder's choice, stole second and third and scored on a throwing error charged to Marywood catcher Emma Kim.
Marywood broke the one-all deadlock with the five afore-mentioned runs in the third including a two-run single from Sam Ferrara. The Pacers then tacked on three runs in the fifth to extend the lead to 9-1.
Junior Emma Tirollo (Orange, Conn./Amity Regional) was dealt the loss for Scranton after giving up three runs on three hits while walking one in two plus innings.
Ferrara gave up an unearned run on two hits to go along with two walks and three strikeouts over 5.0 IP for the Pacers.
The Royals will host Elizabethtown to wrap up the 2024 season on Saturday afternoon at Magis Field with first pitch of game one set for 1 p.m.
--ROYALS--
