HUNTINGDON, Pa. --- The No. 19 ranked Moravian College softball team closed out its 2016 Landmark Conference regular season schedule with a pair of 8-0 wins at Juniata College Saturday as the Hounds pushed their winning streak to 18 games.
The Greyhounds are now 29-3 on the year after sweeping their ninth straight doubleheader, and the Blue and Grey finished its Landmark Conference slate at 10-1. Moravian will be the top seed in the upcoming Landmark Conference Tournament that will be played at Blue & Grey Field in Bethlehem on May 6-7.
Sophomore Josie Novak tossed a one-hit shutout in the first game, and she didn't allow a walk while striking out nine batters in the six-inning game. Novak is now 16-1 on the season, and she became the fifth pitcher in school history to reach 300 career strikeouts, now with 303.
Moravian had just six hits in the opener but had four walks and six hit batters to score eight runs for the NCAA mercy rule. Sophomores catcher Janae Matos and first baseman Jean Markovic each had a pair of RBIs in the contest.
The Blue and Grey jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Freshman center fielder Kat Spilman and junior left fielder Julie Siragusa each drew bases loaded walks before Matos connected on an RBI single. Markovic drove in two runs with an RBI single while freshman shortstop Kaela Kane pushed the final run home when she was hit by a pitch for the second time in the inning.
Moravian scored once in the top of the fifth on an RBI double by junior designated player Victoria Conner, and the Greyhounds finished off the scoring in the first game with a run in the top of the sixth when Matos was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
The Hounds would get 10 hits in the second game with freshman third baseman Madison Shaneberger going 2-for-2. Siragusa and junior catcher Niki Maffettone were each 2-for-3 while freshman second baseman Julia DeMarco was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
Sophomore Amanda Carisone scattered four hits and a walk while registering four strikeouts in the five inning game as she improved to 13-2 on the year. Carisone moved into tenth in school history in strikeouts with 193 in her career.
Moravian scored four times in the top of the second inning of the second contest to take the lead. Freshman right fielder Ashley Gindle had an RBI double before DeMarco connected on a two-RBI single. DeMarco would race home on a Juniata error. The Greyhounds scored once in the third when Siragusa led off with a double and scored on an RBI fielder's choice hit by Maffettone.
The Hounds added two more runs in the fourth inning on an RBI double by Siragusa to extend her school record for doubles in a season to 20, and an RBI single by Markovic. Moravian finished off the scoring on an RBI single from Shaneberger in the top of the fifth.
The Greyhounds are slated to return to action on Tuesday, April 26 in a non-conference doubleheader versus Stevens Institute of Technology beginning at 3:00 p.m. at Blue & Grey Field in Bethlehem.
