SELINSGROVE, PA (March 26, 2023) – Susquehanna softball and Catholic exchanged 4-1 victories to open their Landmark Conference seasons Sunday. The visiting Cardinals used some early runs to fuel a win in the opener, while pitcher Brianna Jones threw a masterful game to give the nightcap to the River Hawks.

Susquehanna, now 9-8 overall and 1-1 in league play, head to Lebanon Valley for non-conference action on Tuesday starting at 3:00 P.M.

CATHOLIC 4, SUSQUEHANNA 1
A second-inning triple opened the scoring for Catholic, provided by Sarah Spaeth after a Katie Scolese leadoff single. On the next at bat Hailee Weiss singled to bring in Spaeth to double their lead to 2-0. Another second-inning scoring chance was thwarted when Lexi Palumbo fielded a grounder and threw home to throw out Weiss, but the Cardinals would get another in the third off a Katie Scolese sacrifice fly.

The River Hawks got a run back in the bottom of the fourth when Zoe Bork doubled down the right field line to bring home Ashley Warner, but Catholic answered with another run in the fifth off another sacrifice fly from Aubrynn Arcement.

Hannah Foust pitched the first five innings for Susquehanna, allowing four earned runs on seven hits with three strikeouts. Amanda Amerman completed the final two innings, allowing just one hit. Catholic's Katie Hurd surrendered five hits with one earned run and five strikeouts. Nicole Plesh picked up two of SU's five hits in a 2-for-3 showing.

SUSQUEHANNA 4, CATHOLIC 1
Susquehanna had just one hit through the first four innings, but they were the ones with the 1-0 lead thanks to a double steal in the bottom of the first. With runners on the corners, Lexi Palumbo stole second as Hailey Kaba made a run for home.

Starter Brianna Jones made it stand with a great first three innings of work, but would face a fierce test in the fourth when the Cardinals loaded the bases with no outs. Jones hunkered down to retire the next three batters, including two looking strikeouts. The visitors would tie the game in the sixth and might have had more if not for third baseman Nicole Wuertz making a heads up play to throw out Kaitlyn Murphy when the baserunner was caught drifting off second during the game-tying RBI single.

Palumbo put the River Hawks ahead in the bottom half of the sixth with a sacrifice fly to score Hailey Kaba. With two runners on Erin Bean reeled a two-bagger off the right center field wall to score Ashley Warner and Zoe Bork to widen the lead to 4-1. A leadoff single would serve as Catholic's only rebuttal, as Jones closed the door on the win.

Jones, who now stands at 5-1 on the season, replied to Catholic's nine hits with six strikeouts and just one earned run, while batting 1-for-3 at the plate to help out her own cause. The River Hawks combined for six hits with singles from Kaba, Bork, Warner and Hanna Roland, with Bean's two-ribbie double serving as the lone extra base hit for SU.