PHOENIXVILLE, Pa. – It's been a long time coming. The Notre Dame of Maryland softball team returned to action for the first time since 2019. After the suspended 2020 season, their first three doubleheaders of the 2021 season were also postponed due to COVID-19 related issues. The Gators split the doubleheader with the Patriots of Valley Forge, 4-5 and 6-5. Samantha Kastner, filling in for Head Coach Cheri Morin who is on maternity leave, picked up her first win.
GAME 1
Sophomore
Jessie Leatherwood was tagged as the starting pitcher for the Gators opening game against Valley Forge. The Patriots entered the game 0-4 on the season. Leatherwood worked her way out of a one out, bases loaded jam in the first inning by striking out the next two batters.
The Gator bats were silenced in the early going as Patriots starting pitcher, Laura Medio, was perfect through three frames. But after a first look at Medio, the Gator hitters broke through in their second time through the lineup. Junior,
Maci Lopez led off the fourth inning with a single to right. She would advance on passed ball, then a fielder's choice advanced her to third. Sophomore catcher
Miranda Burton drove in Lopez with a sacrifice fly to centerfield, tying the game 1-1. Leatherwood followed up with a single and the took second on a wild pitch. Senior,
Rena Dyson, gave the Gators a 2-1 lead with a single to center.
NDMU made six errors on the day, and that would haunt them in the bottom of the fourth. Two errors in the inning allowed Valley Forge runners to move into scoring position. A couple of ground balls limited the damage that could have been done. Through four, the Patriots had taken a 5-2 lead.
The Gators threatened in the sixth as Maci Lopez once again started a rally, leading off the inning with a double. Burton would drive her in with a one out single, and Leatherwood would line an RBI triple to left-center, closing to gap to 5-4 in favor of the Patriots.
The score would hold true until the end of game one, despite the Gators best efforts to complete the comeback, as the tying and go-ahead runs were stranded on base as the seventh inning closed.
NOTABLE GATORS:
Maci Lopez: 2-3, 2B, 2 R, BB
Miranda Burton: 1-3, 2 RBI, R
Jessie Leatherwood: 2-3, 3B, RBI, R 6.0 IP, 112 pitches. 9 H, BB, 4 ER, 12 K
Rena Dyson: 1-3, RBI
GAME 2
The Gators took advantage of an early miscue by Patriots 2B, Jordyn Clarke. The error with two outs in the top of the first allowed Miranda Burton to reach base. Jessie Leatherwood drew a walk then stole second, setting the table for a two RBI single to right by junior
, Kayla Grube.
The 2-0 cushion wouldn't last long as Leatherwood took her spot in the pitching circle. A pair of singles and walk loaded the bases to start the home half. A failed pickoff attempt at third, then a steal of home evened the score before an out was recorded. A wild pitch would lead to the third Patriots run, and the first inning would close with a 3-2 Valley Forge lead. However, Leatherwood would really settle in after the rocky first inning, striking out the side in order in the third and fourth innings.
NDMU would continue to rally with two outs. In the second inning, Maci Lopez reached on an error and advanced into scoring position. Junior,
Angelica Medina, drove in her first RBI with a base hit to centerfield and the game was knotted up at 3-3.
Valley Forge put one back on the board in the bottom half of the second making it 4-3. It would remain that way until the fourth inning when Miranda Burton laced an RBI base hit to even it up at 4-4.
After a clean fifth, the Gators broke through and took the lead in the top of the sixth. Freshman,
Promise Cannon, was hit by a pitch, flipping the lineup back to the top where Maci Lopez would drive Cannon in with a double in the right-centerfield gap. The Gators extended their lead to 6-4 with a Burton sac fly, scoring Lopez, and giving Burton her fourth RBI of the doubleheader.
Leatherwood pitched strong throughout with 14 of the 21 outs coming via strikeout, and only allowing one fly ball. Keeping the ball on the ground in the bottom of the seventh got the Gators the final two outs needed to come away with win number one on the season, and split the doubleheader.
NOTABLE GATORS:
Maci Lopez: 2-4, 2B, RBI, 2 R
Angelica Medina: 1-4, RBI
Miranda Burton: 1-4, 2 RBI, R, SB
Jessie Leatherwood: 1-2, R, 3 BB, SB 7.0 IP, 118 pitches, 6 H, 3 BB, 5 ER, 14 K
Kayla Grube: 1-4, 2 RBI
What's next?
Notre Dame of Maryland (1-1, 1-1) will head to Keystone College (4-2, 4-0) for a Wednesday doubleheader with the Giants on 4/14. Game one begins at 3:00pm.
