MADISON, N.J. – The Stevens Institute of Technology softball team swept its second doubleheader in four days, downing FDU-Florham by 6-1 and 9-1 finals in Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom action Saturday afternoon.
Jessica Guerrero finished the day 4-for-5 with four runs, three RBI, reaching base six times in all;
Megan Curtis finished 5-for-8 with a run and a pair of RBIs;
Emma Quattrochi finished 3-for-8 with two runs and two RBIs.
Kyra Fischer and
Jessica Hsu each tossed complete games in the circle, allowing just two runs and 10 hits over 13 innings while striking out 10 batters combined.
HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME 1
The Ducks put a three-spot on the board on the first, Guerrero and Curtis reached on a single, then a hit by pitch, and Quattrochi reached on an FDU-Florham error with Guerrero scoring on the play. After a fly out and walk to
Rachael Prescott,
Isabelle Won drove in both Quattrochi and Prescott with a single to right.
FDU-Florham got a run back in the first, with Stevens (11-13, 4-2 MACF) carrying the 3-1 lead through three innings. In the top of the fourth, a two-out Guerrero double and Curtis RBI single put the Ducks back up three.
Hsu led off the Stevens fifth with a triple down the right field line and came into on a Prescott double;
Allison Mitloff and Guerrero combined to make it 6-1 in the sixth, Mitloff tripling and Guerrero driving her in with a sacrifice fly.
Fischer was in command down the stretch, retiring eight of the final nine hitters she faced, closing out her sixth win of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME 2
The Ducks again jumped on the Devils early, putting four on the board in the first two innings. Guerrero walked to lead off and took second on a wild pitch. After moving to third with two out, she came in to score when Hsu reached on an error.
In the second, Won singled to lead off, and took third, with
Elizabeth Kirstein taking second, when the latter reached on an error. With two out, and the two runners still in scoring position, Guerrero and Curtis notched back-to-back base hits, scoring both, with Guerrero later scoring on a Quattrochi single.
Armed with a four-run cushion, Hsu set down six of seven batters faced between the second and third innings, yielding a lone walk across both frames.
In the top of the fourth, Curtis singled, stole second, took third on a Hsu single, and scored on a wild pitch. Guerreo made it 6-0 in the fifth, doubling home
Carmelita Murphy-Brown, who'd reached on a walk.
FDU-Florham ended Hsu's bid for a shutout in the fifth, but the Ducks tacked on three more in the sixth. Quattrochi led off with a single, moved to second on a Prescott walk, and came in to make it 7-1 on a Kirstein single. After
Riley Lawrence loaded the bases with another single, a Mitloff single and Guerrero hit by pitch brought home pinch-runner
Adrianna Albano and Kirstein.
Hsu once again set the Devils down in order in the sixth, giving the Ducks the run-rule win and the sweep.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Ducks improved to 17-13 all time against the Devils, and 7-4 since joining the MAC Freedom.
- Curtis improved her hitting streak to seven games, the longest for anyone on the team this season. Curtis is hitting .571 with eight runs and six RBIs during those seven games; she's also reached base safely in a season-high 10 straight games.
- Fischer lowered her season ERA more than three-tenths of a run during her complete game effort. Hsu lowered her season ERA more than four-tenths of a run with hers.
UP NEXT
The Ducks host NYU at Weehawken Waterfront Park on Tuesday, April 1. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
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