MADISON, N.J. --- The Moravian College softball team remained undefeated in Landmark Conference action and extended its winning streak to 14 games with a sweep at Drew University, 10-0 in five innings and 13-5, Saturday afternoon.
Freshman pitcher Josie Novak tossed her third shutout of the season in the opener to improve to 7-1 in the circle. She scattered two hits while striking out seven Rangers in the game.
Moravian's offense ripped out 13 hits in the contest with senior second baseman Lizzie Mack and sophomore third baseman Chrissy Marinaro both going 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs apiece and senior first baseman Jenn Dalickas tuning in a 2-for-4 performance. Senior center fielder Dior George and junior right fielder Mary Schlosbon each scored a pair of runs while sophomore designated player Abby Jeffries added two RBIs.
The Greyhounds opened the scoring with three runs in the top of the first inning on an RBI single by Dalickas, and RBI triple off of Mack's bat and an RBI single from junior shortstop Lindsay Sullivan.
Moravian added three more runs in the top of the second for a 6-0 lead after an error allowed George to score, an RBI ground out by Jeffries and an RBI double from Mack.
The Blue & Grey scored four times in the top of the fourth to get a 10 run lead and institute the NCAA eight-run rule after the fifth inning. Jeffries scored Schlosbon with an RBI single while Marinaro would connect on a two-RBI single up the middle later in the inning. George drove in the final run of the game when she was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
The second contest saw the Greyhounds rally from a four-run deficit with 12 runs over the final three innings to keep the winning streak alive. Moravian had another 13 hits in the game with Dalickas going 3-for-3 with four RBIs as she tied the school record with three doubles in the victory. Dalickas now has 173 career hits, tying for eighth in the record books and she moved into second in career total bases with 310.
Sophomore catcher Niki Maffettone was 3-for-4 in the contest with two RBIs while Jeffries and sophomore left fielder Julie Siragusa were both 2-for-5 with Jeffries driving in three runs. George scored three runs in the game to increase her career total to 164, which is second in school history, and she had one hit to become the seventh player in school history to reach 180 career hits.
Freshman Amanda Carisone improved to 7-1 on the year, allowing five runs, just one of them earned, on five hits and a walk to go with six strikeouts.
The Hounds opened the scoring in the second game with a run in the top of the first inning on an RBI double by Dalickas.
The Rangers would tie the game in the bottom of the first with an unearned run, and Drew took a 4-1 lead in the second inning with three more runs. The Rangers pushed the lead to 5-1 with an unearned run in the bottom of the fourth.
Moravian would connect for six runs in the top half of the fifth to move back ahead, 7-5. Jeffries ripped a ground-rule double to right field with the bases loaded to score a pair of runs before an RBI ground out from Mack. Jeffries tied the game when she raced home on a wild pitch while an error gave the Greyhounds the lead. Maffettone finished off the inning with an RBI single.
The Blue & Grey scored a run in the top of the sixth on an RBI double by Dalickas for an 8-5 lead.
The Greyhounds finished off the scoring with five runs in the top of the seventh. Siragusa started the scoring when she cross the plate on a wild pitch, and Maffettone added another RBI single. Dalickas connected on a two-RBI double as she tied the single game record of three doubles, joining Tracey Holland, Janelle Brey and Justina Black who had all hit the mark. Jeffries drove in the final run of the game with an RBI single.
The Hounds are slated to return to action on Thursday, April 9 when the host rival Muhlenberg College in a non-conference doubleheader at Blue & Grey Field in Bethlehem starting at 3:00 p.m.
