SCRANTON, PA (May 6, 2023) – Susquehanna softball traveled to the University of Scranton on Saturday afternoon for a doubleheader with the Royals and their regular season finale. With these two squads entering the day as part of a three-way tie for second place in the Landmark, the matchup carried major playoff implications for both. Rising to the occasion, the River Hawks dominated the day and took two victories, winning game one 6-1 before claiming a 5-2 victory in game two, sealing their place in the playoffs and sole possession of second place in the conference.

Game 1: Susquehanna 6, Scranton 1

Despite the final scoreline and a clear advantage at the plate for SU as they out-hit the Royals seven to one, the River Hawks did not score a run until the top of the 5^th inning. Meanwhile, they were given ample time to score runs by the stellar pitching of first-year Hannah Foust, who tossed five innings of no-hit softball before giving up Scranton's only hit of the game to the first batter in the top of the 6^th. Foust fanned three batters, bringing her season total to 65, the fifth-best in the Landmark. Fellow first-year Amanda Amerman took the reins in for the remainder of the game and allowed no hits, putting together a combined one-hit pitching job for the River Hawks.

The SU offense had three hits through the first four innings but broke through in a big way in the top of the 5^th, with two hits, two stolen bases, a Scranton fielding error, a walk, a hit by pitch, and a sacrifice fly all combining to yield three runs and the first lead of the day. Morgan Henry capped off that mixture of events with a two-RBI single up the middle.

That singular hit for Scranton did become a run after a walk, a sacrifice bunt, and an RBI groundout plated that runner. But that 6^th inning would end with three Scranton baserunners left stranded as Amerman got a strikeout to end the threat. In the top of the 7^th, Henry proved her clutch at the plate once more, picking up her third and fourth RBIs of the day with another two-out, two-RBI single while a third run came home before Henry would be caught out between second and third, doing some savvy baserunning to bring that third run home. Amerman would then set the Royals down in order in the bottom of the 7^th to seal the result for SU.

Henry was key in game one, going 3 for 4 at the plate with those four RBIs. Erin Bean would be the only other hitter with multiple hits, going 2 for 3 and also reaching base on a walk. She, Meredith Pavlik, and Kassidy Smith would all pick up stolen bases, Bean's being a team-leading eighth stolen base.

Game 2: Susquehanna 5, Scranton 2

Both teams increased their hitting output for the second game of the day, but it would again be Susquehanna jumping out in front and the Royals playing catch up. Brianna Jones picked up the start in game and added to her team-leading innings tally with seven more as she tossed her 11^th complete game of the season and surpassed the 100 innings pitched mark.

SU's first run came in the top of the 1^st, with Erin Bean coming home to score on an RBI groundout from Lexi Palumbo after Bean led off the game by reaching base on a Scranton error. Unlike in game 1, Scranton wasted no time in responding, picking up their first hit and first run in the bottom of the inning. The River Hawks restored their one-run advantage right away, with Bean ripping an RBI double down the left field line after the inning began once again with a Scranton error allowing a runner to reach base. The score then moved to 3-1 in SU's favor in the 3^rd after Jones helped herself with a sacrifice fly that followed a lead-off single for Palumbo and a double from Ashley Warner.

The bats continued to pop for the River Hawks in the 4^th, as they put together four hits in the frame with two going for extra bases. Stevie Shaak had the first with a one-out single, then came home to score on a triple down the right field line from Pavlik. With two outs on the board, Palumbo continued the rally with a double to left center, scoring Pavlik and picking up her second RBI of the game. Warner followed with another hit, but the inning ended on a fly out with the score 5-1. Scranton got one back immediately, plating a runner in the bottom of the 4^th on an RBI single. But from there, Jones would cruise to victory, retiring the final nine Scranton batters in order and sealing her 12^th win of the season, the third-best mark in the conference. She finished the day allowing two runs on just five hits and striking out four batters.

Pavlik, Palumbo, and Warner all put together multi-hit efforts, with Pavlik leading the team with three hits. After a scorching hot stretch through April and May where she tallied a .560 batting average, .621 on-base percentage, and .760 slugging percentage, Warner finishes the season first in the Landmark in on-base percentage at .496, third in batting average at .426 and fifth in slugging at .600. She also claims the Landmark RBI crown with 34 on the year.

The River Hawks will now prepare for the double-elimination Landmark Conference Tournament next weekend, set to face off against #3 seed Catholic on Friday, May 12 at 3 pm. They'll look to claim back-to-back conference titles and make a return to the NCAA Tournament after taking a win in the Regional round last year but ultimately coming up short of a Super Regionals appearance.

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--RIVER HAWKS--