April 21, 2014
Pitchers lead Wolverines to sweep of Franciscan
GROVE CITY, Pa. -- Freshmen pitchers Erika Aughton (Moon Township, Pa./Moon) and Katie Watts (Sandy Lake, Pa./Lakeview) combined to throw a no-hitter in game one and fellow freshman Aimee Wootton (Weiser, Idaho/Weiser) didn't allow an earned run in the second game as the Grove City College softball team earned a non-conference doubleheader sweep of Franciscan on Monday afternoon at the Grove City College Softball Field.
The Wolverines (8-19) won the first game, 11-0, in five innings before taking the nightcap, 6-1.
Junior second baseman Allison Rayburn (New Kensington, Pa./Valley) went 3-for-4 with a pair of triples and four RBI in the game one victory while junior shortstop Kelsey Shirey (Macedonia, Ohio/Nordonia) and sophomore third baseman Casey Woodcock (Oneida, N.Y./Oneida) both were 2-for-2.
Grove City made the most of a Franciscan two-out error to score three runs in the bottom of the first. Aughton reached on an error and moved to third on a Shirey single to right center. Shirey moved to second via defensive indifference, and both runners came home when junior catcher Sarah Morris (Allison Park, Pa./Hampton) blasted a two-run double to left field to give the Wolverines a 2-0 lead.
Watts would then send Morris home and make it a 3-0 game with an RBI-single up the middle.
Junior Caitlyn Vidovic (North Ridgeville, Ohio/Lutheran West) led off the bottom of the second with a single through the left side and then scored on Rayburn's first triple of the game. A groundout by sophomore left fielder Megan Lynskey (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) would score Rayburn to increase the Grove City advantage to 5-0. Shirey would add a two-out triple but was stranded as the Lady Barons (1-31) recorded the third out.
Woodcock drew a one-out walk to start the Wolverine offense in the third inning, and pinch runner Brianna Bals (Brick, N.J./Calvary Academy) would advance to second on the first career hit for freshman right fielder Madison Brubaker (Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) -- a single down the left field line. After a flyout, Rayburn would single through the left side to score Bals to push Grove City's lead to 6-0.
The Wolverines would take advantage of three Franciscan errors in the bottom of the fourth to score five runs and put the game out of reach.
Aughton reached on an error for the second time to lead off the inning and stole second. After a pair of outs, Watts drew a walk and moved to third on a Woodcock RBI-single that scored Aughton. Woodcock was able to move to second on the throw home, and both baserunners would score when Brubaker and Vidovic would reach on consecutive errors. Rayburn would then send the final two runs across the plate with her second triple of the game to make the score 11-0.
The Wolverines committed an error with two outs in the top of the fifth to allow just the second Lady Baron baserunner of the game, but Watts was able to get a flyout for the third out to end the game via the eight-run rule.
Aughton started and earned the win for Grove City, with a third-inning walk serving as the lone blip on an otherwise perfect three innings of work. Watts was nearly flawless in the fourth and fifth innings, with the lone baserunner reaching via the aforementioned error.
In game two, the Wolverines once again jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Freshman catcher Katy Gibson (Carnegie, Pa./Chartiers Valley) sparked things with a two-out single and would advance to second on a passed ball before stealing third. That would put her into position to score when senior shortstop Baylie Jones (Conneautville, Pa./Conneaut Valley) hit an RBI-single. Jones stole second and then came home to score on a single by freshman third baseman Alaina Kunselman (New Bethlehem, Pa./Redbank Valley). After Kunselman stole second, Watts would send her home with an RBI-single before the Lady Barons finally recorded the third out.
Grove City would add a run in the third when Kunselman singled and then came home to score on a Watts RBI-triple. Another run would score in the fourth when sophomore Emily Rothbard (Bel Air, Md./Bel Air) and junior outfielder Erica Gmuer (Gibsonia, Pa./Hampton) each drew walks before advancing twice on a pair of passed balls.
The Wolverines would add one more run in the bottom of the fifth when Jones smacked a leadoff triple to the left center field fence and then came home on a Kunselman sacrifice fly.
Franciscan would score a run in the top of the seventh when Iliana Gonzales reached on an error to lead off the inning and later would later cross home plate on a two-out error, but it was too little too late as Wootton would record the final out to complete the sweep.
Wootton scattered five hits and allowed just the one unearned run over seven innings while striking out six and walking three. Jones, Kunselman and Watts each had a pair of hits for the Wolverines.
Grove City returns to its Presidents' Athletic Conference schedule tomorrow when it hosts Chatham in a 3:30 p.m. doubleheader.
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