RALEIGH, N.C. (March 5, 2023) – The Susquehanna University softball team were handed late defeats against Arcadia and Ferrum during their third and final day Sunday at the Grand Slam Triangle Classic. The Knights delivered a three-run seventh to pull away with a 7-4 decision in the opener, then the River Hawks led 7-5 after five before the Panthers used three runs to take an 8-7 victory.
SU leaves North Carolina with a 2-4 mark, highlighted by a big win Saturday against sixth-ranked Belhaven. The River Hawks head back down south for an eight-game spring break trip to North Myrtle Beach from Sunday, Mar. 12 to Thursday, Mar. 16.
ARCADIA 7, SUSQUEHANNA 4
The opening game was a pitcher's duel between SU's Hanna Faust and AU's Juliana Presto, sparingly giving up runs and hits through the first four innings. SU's
Ashley Warner opened the game with a solo homer in the bottom of the first for a 1-0 lead. Arcadia tied the game in the top of the third with a Madi Costigan RBI triple, then pulled ahead in the fifth on a Summer Centeno RBI single. It didn't last long as SU tied the game in the bottom half when Kaylee Smalls' at bat resulted in a two-out error to right to bring home
Lexi Palumbo.
Arcadia put up two runs in the sixth on back-to-back RBI singles from Madi Costigan and Nathalia DiIanni. SU answered with one run in the bottom half when
Emily Deitch reached on an error to short to bring
Hailey Kaba home from second. The Knights put up three more runs in the seventh, with a Kaylee Small sacrifice fly serving as Susquehanna's lone run in the bottom half.
FERRUM 8, SUSQUEHANNA 7
The River Hawks quickly erased an early 1-0 deficit in the top of the first with three runs in the bottom half, brought on by
Ashley Warner's RBI single to right and a two-RBI single from
Meredith Pavlik. The Panthers used one swing of the bat to regain the lead when Lyndsey Sears hit a grand slam to center to lead 5-3. Susquehanna got a run in the second and third innings to tie the game at five off RBI singles from
Erin Bean and
Lexi Palumbo, then went ahead in the fifth off a two-RBI single from
Stevie Shaak to lead 7-5.
Ferrum responded with busy innings in the sixth and seventh. The Panthers loaded the bases with a single and two walks in the sixth, which lead to a bases-loaded walk during Emily Hopper's at bat to cut SU's lead to 7-6. In the seventh, an error to put tying run and leadoff hitter Breanna Weaver on first led to Lyndsey Sears' RBI double on the next at bat to tie the game. The following batter, Macey Moore, put Ferrum ahead with another RBI double to bring in Weaver to take the lead at 8-7. SU was set down in order in the bottom of the seventh.
