CLERMONT, Fla. --- The 18th-ranked Moravian College softball team opened its 2012 season with an 11-4 victory over Misericordia University Sunday at the National Training Center in Clermont, Florida.
The Greyhounds jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when freshman outfielder Dior George reached on an error and scored on another error on a fly ball off the bat of junior third baseman Shannen Mohr.
The Cougars tied the game in the top of the second inning when catcher Shawnna Bell tripled with one out and crossed the plate on a wild pitch.
Moravian retook the lead in the bottom half of the second inning with four runs. Senior first baseman Jenna Carmon led off the inning with an inside the park home run down the right field line. Sophomore outfielder Miranda Sergas added a two-RBI single in the inning to score junior outfielder Brook Kowal and sophomore second baseman Eavan Matz. Sergas would score the final run of the inning on an RBI fielder's choice by Mohr.
The Greyhounds pushed their lead to 9-1 with four more runs in the bottom of the third inning. Carmon and Kowal both reached base and scored on errors while Sergas had an RBI sacrifice fly. Mohr finished off the inning with an RBI single that scored George, who had singled earlier in the inning.
Misericordia cut Moravian's lead to 9-4 with three runs in the top of the fourth inning. Outfielder Jennifer Cory had a two-out RBI single for the Cougars while second baseman Mallory Getts added a two-RBI double.
Moravian answered in the bottom half of the fourth with a run on a bases loaded walk by sophomore outfielder Alycia Sabol. The Greyhounds finished off the scoring in the bottom of the sixth inning when Sabol reached on an error that allowed freshman infielder KC Carpenter to score.
The Greyhounds had a 9-6 edge in hits in the game with Sergas going two-for-two with three RBIs. Mohr also added three RBIs while the homer was the seventh of Carmon's career. Bell led Misericordia with a two-for-three performance at the plate while Getts was two-for-four with two RBIs and a double.
Sophomore Elizabeth Tillou picked up the win on the mound for the Greyhounds, allowing two hits and a walk in 1 2/3 innings of relief. Junior Alyssa Fegely tossed the first 3 1/3 innings for Moravian, giving up four runs, three of them earned, on four hits and two walks to go along with two strikeouts. Carmon pitched the final two innings for the Greyhounds with three strikeouts.
Jess Armillay took the loss for Misericordia after allowing nine runs, just four earned, on eight hits and two walks to go with three strikeouts in three innings of action. Mindy LaBarre tossed the other three innings for the Cougars, giving up two unearned runs on a hit and two walks to go with one strikeout.
Moravian will return to action on Monday, March 5 at the National Training Center with games against The College of New Jersey at 9:00 a.m. and Elizabethtown College at 11:00 a.m.
