BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian College softball team needed extra innings in the opener then used the NCAA eight-run rule to sweep a non-conference doubleheader from visiting Ursinus College, 3-2 in nine innings and 8-0 in six innings, at Blue & Grey Field Sunday afternoon.
Sophomore Carsin Conner allowed just two hits and a walk while striking out seven batters over five innings of relief action in the opener while senior Elizabeth Tillou scattered three hits and also struck out seven for her second shutout of the season in the night cap.
"Liz and Carsin have both had good weekends for us in the circle," Head Coach John Byrne commented. "Carsin came in during the first game and shut the door when we needed that. Tillou has been throwing very well and finished up the day strong and also helped herself with the bat. We just need to get everyone hitting a little more consistently."
In the first game, the Greyhounds opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning when junior starting pitcher Lizzie Mack hit a two-out double and scored on an RBI double down the right field line by senior catcher Taylor Mihalik.
The Bears would answer that run with all three of their tallies in the game in the top of the second inning.
Moravian closed the gap to a run in the bottom of the second when senior third baseman Rachel DeLucia singled with an out and crossed the plate on a two-out RBI double by junior center fielder Dior George.
The Hounds knotted the score at 3-3 in the bottom of the sixth inning when senior right fielder Miranda Sergas led off with a single and scored an RBI single up the middle by George.
Moravian used the international tiebreaker to its advantage in the home half of the eighth. With Mihalik on second base to start the inning, senior designated player Cassie Ernst sacrificed her to third. Sergas connected on a fly ball to left field that was deep enough to score Mihalik even before the ball was misplayed in the outfield.
Both squads had seven hits in the opener with Mihalik going 2-for-3 and George going 2-for-4. Mack tossed the first three-plus innings of the game with three runs on five hits and two walks to go with three strikeouts for Moravian.
The Hounds gave Tillou all the offense she needed in the second game with five runs in the bottom of the first inning. George was hit by a pitch to start the stanza before sophomore left fielder Mary Schlosbon walked. After a sacrifice by Mack, junior first baseman Jenn Dalickas drove a 3-0 pitch over the right field fence, the walkway behind the fence, Moravian's eight-lane track and nearly hit the high jump pit nearly 50 feet beyond the fence for a three-run homer, her team-leading seventh of the season.
"I gave Jenn the green light on 3-0, and that is probably the third time in 21 years that I have done that on a 3-0 count," Byrne said of Dalickas shot. "You've got to go with the gut sometimes. I just had a feeling she was going to get ahold of one, and my gut was right."
Moravian tacked on two more runs in the first inning on RBI singles by DeLucia and senior second baseman Eavan Matz.
The Hounds scored single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to institute the NCAA eight-run rule. Mihalik had an RBI double in the fourth inning while Mack was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the fifth. The game ended when Tillou hit a single down the right field line that was misplayed, allowing freshman outfielder Julie Siragusa to race home from first base.
Moravian had a 13-3 advantage in hits during the second game as Mihalik and Tillou were each 2-for-3.
The Greyhounds will play their third twin bill in three days on Monday, April 14 when the squad heads to Delaware Valley College for a non-conference match-up in Doylestown starting at 3:30 p.m.
