March 6, 2009

MARS HILL, N.C. – Mars Hill split a doubleheader with East Stroudsburg Friday afternoon at Ponder Park. The Lions won the first game 4-2 but dropped the second game 10-2. The Lions are now 8-8. The Warriors are 3-3.

In the first game, East Stroudsburg got on the board in the top of the fourth inning. Kerri Jakobsen (Elmwood Park, Ill.) singled to right field scoring Amanda Feist (Allentown, Pa.) to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead.

The Warriors added another run in the next inning when Kara Darcey (Levittown, N.Y.) reached base on a throwing error by Jenny Hoyt (Rose Park, Kan.). Brittany Racek (Philadelphia, Pa.) crossed the plate on the play to give East Stroudsburg a 2-0 advantage.

Hoyt made amends for her error in the bottom half of the fifth inning with an RBI single up the middle scoring Ashley Seawell (Asheboro, N.C.) from third to cut the deficit to 2-1.

The Lions then exploded in the bottom half of the sixth inning with three runs to put the game away. Seawell hit a two-run homerun to give Mars Hill a 3-2 advantage. Later in the inning, Tara West (Urbana, Ohio) reached on an error by Racek, and Ashley Harber (Goose Creek, S.C.) scored on the play to give the Lions a 4-2 lead.

Paige Brantley (Raleigh, N.C.) induced three consecutive Warrior outs in the top of the seventh inning to seal the game. Brantley, now 2-1, picked up the victory for Mars Hill. She pitched 3.2 innings of three hit ball.

Jennifer Bensinger (Tamaqua, Pa.), now 1-2, dropped game one for East Stroudsburg. She allowed three earned runs on nine hits in 5.1 innings of work.

East Stroudsburg opened game two with authority with back-to-back jacks by Rachel Gieringer (Horsham, Pa.) and Feist. Gieringer's two-run homerun along with Feist's solo shot gave the Warriors a 3-0 lead.

The Warriors then got another two runs in the top of the second inning to increase their advantage to 5-0. Racek doubled to center field, scoring Amanda Dice (Mercerville, N.J.). Jamie Mingis (Glen Mills, Pa.) singled up the middle which scored Racek.

Mars Hill tried to rally in the bottom half of the inning. Anna James (Bellevue, Wash.) led off with a solo homerun to cut the deficit to 5-1. Later in the inning and with the bases loaded, Ashley Angell (Winston-Salem, N.C.) singled down the left field line scoring Hoyt to cut the Warriors' lead to 5-2. However, Jackie Battaglino (Old Bridge, N.J.) came out of the bullpen for East Stroudsburg and got Seawell to ground out to Gieringer on the next play to end the Mars Hill threat.

The Warriors broke open the second game in the top of the third inning. Jakobsen hit the ball to left field and scored two runs in the form of Caitlin Rosenbaum (Cambell Hill, N.Y.) and Darcey to give East Stroudsburg a 7-2 advantage. On the next play, Dice scored on a Brandi Stettler (Whitehall, Pa.) sacrifice bunt. Later in the inning, Racek hit a bloop to right field to score Julia Collins (North Wales, Pa.) and give the Warriors a 9-2 lead.

A Darcey homer in the top of the fifth inning concluded the scoring.

Jade Geddrie (West Islip, N.Y.), now 1-0, was credited with the win for East Stroudsburg in game two. She allowed two earned runs on four hits in 1.2 innings pitched. Battaglino picked up her second save of the season allowing no runs on one hit in 3.1 innings of relief.

West, now 4-5, dropped game two for Mars Hill. She threw two complete innings but allowed five earned runs on six hits.

Mars Hill will travel to North Greenville for a doubleheader Saturday. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.

Boxscore...

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