BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian College softball team opened its 2019 home season by scoring 35 runs in a non-conference sweep of Gwynedd Mercy University at Blue & Grey Field Thursday afternoon, winning a pair of five-inning games 18-4 and 17-1.
The Greyhounds, now 9-3 on the season, had 18 hits in the first game led by sophomore shortstop Maddisen Bieber, who was 3-for-3 with three runs and three RBIs. Junior first baseman Lauren Goetz went 2-for-2 with two home runs and six RBIs while freshman designated player Briana DiCandeloro was 2-for-2 with an RBI. Senior center fielder Kat Spilman and junior right fielder Emily Stanilious were both 2-for-3 with three runs, and Spilman added RBI while sophomore catcher Brooke Wehr was 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI.
Freshman Alexandria Scheeler made the start in the circle and improved to 4-0 on the season as she allowed four runs, two earned, on eight hits to go with three strikeouts in four innings of action. Scheeler was also 1-for-1 at the plate with a double, two runs and two RBIs. Freshman Robin McCabe tossed the final inning with one strikeout and a pair of walks.
The Blue and Grey plated six runs in the bottom of the first inning for a quick 6-0 lead. Wehr drew a walk to lead off and Stanilious followed with a bunt single. Spilman reached on an infield single, and a throwing error on the play allowed Wehr to race home. Scheeler drew a walk to load the bases before Bieber connected on a two-RBI single to score Stanilious and Spilman. Goetz followed with a three-run homer to left field.
Moravian pushed two runs across the plate in the bottom of the second frame for an 8-0 advantage. Stanilious led off with a single while Spilman reached on a fielder's choice and Brogan hit an infield single to load the bases. Scheeler ripped a two-RBI double to left field to score Stanilious and Spilman.
The Griffins scored a pair of runs in the top of the third to cut the Hounds' lead to 8-2.
The Greyhounds answered with nine runs in the bottom half of the third frame to push the score to 17-2. Bieber led off with an infield single and scored on Goetz's second homer of the game, team-leading fifth round tripper of the season and eighth home run of her career. DiCandeloro and Wehr singled before Stanilious reached on an error to load the bases. Spilman ripped an RBI single before sophomore left fielder Shannon Brogan hit an RBI sacrifice fly. Scheeler walked to load the bases again before an RBI single by senior third baseman Madison Shaneberger. Bieber added an RBI single while Goetz drew an RBI walk. DiCandeloro hit again in the inning and ripped an RBI single before Wehr reached on an RBI fielder's choice to bring in the final run of the frame.
Gwynedd Mercy added two runs in the top of the fourth for a 17-4 score while Moravian finished off the scoring with a run in the bottom of the fourth as freshman pinch hitter Taylor Sanders hit her first collegiate homer to left field.
In the second game, the Hounds pounded out another 16 hits with Wehr going 3-for-4 with five RBIs, a homer and two runs scored. Stanilious, Spilman, Brogan and Bieber were each 2-for-3 with Stanilious adding a double and two runs, Spilman contributing two runs, two doubles and two RBIs, and Brogan hitting a triple and scoring twice to go with an RBI. Goetz scored a pair of runs and had a double while senior second baseman Kaela Kane crossed the plate three times and had two RBIs and her 100th career hit.
Junior Paige Lesher made the start and improved to 5-1 in the circle as she allowed one run on one hit to go with three strikeouts in four innings of action. Sophomore Meghan Bauer struck out two batters in an inning of work.
The Griffins jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning in game two.
Moravian answered three runs in the bottom of the first to move ahead, 3-1. Stanilious connected on a one-out double and raced home on an RBI double from Spilman. Brogan followed with an RBI triple while Scheeler hit an RBI infield single to bring in Brogan for the final run of the inning.
The Greyhounds added two runs in the second for a 5-1 edge. Goetz led off with a double while Kane reached on an error. Wehr followed with an RBI single, and another error on the play allowed Kane to race home.
The Blue and Grey scored 12 times in the bottom half of the fourth for a 17-1 lead. Kane reached on an error to lead off before Wehr connected on a two-run homer to right field, her second of home run of the season and 14th of her career. Stanilious singled, stole second and scored on an RBI double by Spilman while Spilman eventually raced home on a wild pitch. Kane connected on a two-RBI single that scored Brogan and Bieber as Kane became the 47th player in school history to reach 100 career hits. Wehr would connect on a two-RBI single as Kane and Goetz scored, while DiCandeloro had a pinch-hit RBI single. The Hounds added a pair of runs on errors before Sanders had a pinch-hit RBI single to finish the scoring.
Moravian is slated to return to action on Saturday, March 16 when the squad begins its 2019 Landmark Conference season with a doubleheader versus Drew University beginning at 1:00 p.m. at Blue & Grey Field.
