Posted: Feb 27, 2023
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. --- The Moravian University softball team split a pair of contests on the second day of the PFX Spring Games at the DiamondPLEX in Winter Haven, Florida, as the Greyhounds fell to Calvin (Mich.) College, 9-2, in the first game of the day before defeating the University of Dubuque (Iowa), 15-8, to finish action Monday.
How It Happened – Calvin Game
- The Knights took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, and Calvin extended the advantage to 4-0 with three more runs in the top of the fourth
- The Hounds got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth frame when junior designated player Emily Silberman led off the inning with a solo home run, her first homer of the season
- The Knights got the run back in the top of the fifth, and Calvin scored four more times in the top of the sixth for a 9-1 edge
- Moravian plated its other run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Freshman right fielder Sarah DeStefano reached on a two-out error, and she raced home from second base on an RBI single by sophomore left fielder Sage Snyder
- Sophomore Madi Cunningham made the start in the circle for the Blue & Grey, and she had four strikeouts in 5.2 innings of action, suffering just her second career loss for Moravian. Freshman Natalie Otto made her collegiate debut and had three strikeouts in 1.1 innings in the circle
How It Happened – Dubuque Game
- The Hounds jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the second inning against the Spartans. Freshman second baseman Hailey Tanner drew a bases loaded walk to score sophomore center fielder Jessica Forder, who had reached on an error. Sophomore third baseman Holly Walter reached on a fielder's choice as Snyder and junior shortstop Ajala Elmore both raced across the plate. DeStefano added an RBI groundout as Tanner scored the final run of the inning
- Moravian pushed the advantage to 5-0 with a run in the top of the third frame as Snyder connected on an RBI single to bring in Forder
- Dubuque broke onto the scoreboard with four runs in the bottom of the third inning to pull within a run at 5-4
- The Greyhounds started the top of the fourth with a walk from Walter and singles by DeStefano and sophomore first baseman Lindsey Gawrys before Silberman connected on a grand slam to make it 9-2. Later in the inning, freshman pinch hitter Angelina Marino ripped a two-RBI double to right field as Synder and Forder scored for an 11-2 edge
- The Spartans pushed five runs across the plate in the bottom half of the fourth frame, all of them unearned, to cut the Moravian lead to 11-7
- Dubuque added a run in the bottom of the fifth to make it 11-8
- The Blue & Grey got a pair of runs in the top of the sixth inning as Walter connected on a two-run homer to left center field, scoring Snyder. The homer was the first of Walter's career
- The Hounds finished off the scoring in the top of the seventh frame as Snyder ripped a two-RBI single that scored Forder and freshman pinch runner Brenna Beshock
- Sophomore Madison Hummel started in the circle for Moravian, and she had a pair of strikeouts in 3.2 innings of action while Otto earner her first career victory with three strikeouts in the final 3.1 innings
Inside the Numbers
- Moravian had 21 hits in the two games led by Snyder, who was 5-for-6 on the day with four RBIs, three runs and a double, while Gawrys went 4-for-8 with two doubles and a run
- Forder produced three hits while scoring four times while DeStefano, Silberman and Walter all had two hits. Silberman had five RBIs to go with her two home runs, which give her 14 career homers, while Walter had two runs, two RBIs and a homer and DeStefano added a run and an RBI
- Elmore, Mariano and junior catcher Mya Zettlemoyer all picked up one hit
Up Next for the Greyhounds
- Tuesday, February 28 vs. Saint Mary's (Minn.) University at PFX Spring Games in Winter Haven, Fla., 11:30 a.m.
- Tuesday, February 28 vs. Neumann University at PFX Spring Games in Winter Haven, Fla., 2:00 p.m.