BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The No. 19 Moravian College softball team saw its 18-game winning streak come to a close with a 5-3 loss to visiting Stevens Institute of Technology in the opening game of a non-conference doubleheader at Blue & Grey Field Tuesday; however, the Greyhounds posted a 5-1 win in the second contest to split the twinbill.
The Hounds are now 30-4 on the year, the program's 17th 30-win season, and the squad has a pair of non-conference doubleheaders remaining before hosting the Landmark Conference Tournament at Blue & Grey Field on May 6-7.
"We had timely hitting in the second game which is what we didn't have in the first game," stated Head Coach John Byrne. "You have to knock people in when you have chances, which we did in the opener but nobody wants to be the guy. It was good to see them come back in the second game and get a split against a team that plays well. They have some nice ball players, and they play the game right. We've got to change our attitude and focus in a little bit more, and do some little things like base running, hustle and things like that. We have to finish up strong with the next four games."
Moravian had seven hits in the opener with sophomore catcher Janae Matos going 2-for-3 with a pair of solo home runs. Freshman second baseman Julia DeMarco was 2-for-4 in the game while freshman center fielder Kat Spilman hit a solo homer.
Sophomore Josie Novak dropped just her second game of the season in the circle for the Hounds, falling to 16-2 after allowing five runs on seven hits with one walk and three strikeouts in five-plus innings of action. Sophomore Amanda Carisone tossed the final two innings with a pair of strikeouts.
The Blue and Grey took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning when Matos hit a one-out solo home run to right center field near the scoreboard. The Ducks answered with two runs in the top of the fourth to take a 2-1 lead. Matos tied the game in the bottom half of the inning as she dropped her second homer of the game and fourth of the season just over the fence down the left field line.
Stevens moved back in front with three runs in the top of the sixth inning. Spilman led off the bottom half of the frame with a solo home run to center field, her team-leading sixth of the season but that would be all the offense that Moravian would get in the opener.
The Greyhounds were limited to just five hits in the second game with Matos going 2-for-3 again with two RBIs and Spilman adding another homer.
Carisone went the distance in the circle to improve to 14-2 on the year as she allowed a run on five hits and a walk to go with four strikeouts.
Moravian jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when freshman shortstop Kaela Kane drew a one-out walk and scored on a two-out, two-run shot by Spilman over the left centerfield fence for her seventh round-tripper of the season.
The Greyhounds would push the lead to 5-0 with a three-run fifth inning. DeMarco reached on an error and raced home on an RBI single by freshman third baseman Madison Shaneberger. After junior left fielder Julie Siragusa walked, Matos connected on a two-RBI double to the gap in left center.
Stevens would get a run in the top of the seventh and have runners on the corners before Carisone struck out the final two batters to close the door.
Moravian is slated to return to action in its final road doubleheader of the season, a non-conference twinbill at the College of Staten Island on Saturday, April 30 beginning at 1:00 p.m.
