LEESBURG, Fla. - Carroll's softball team split a pair of games Sunday afternoon on the second day of their 2024 Spring Break trip. The Pioneers dropped their first game of the day 10-2 to Messiah University in 10 innings, before recording their first victory of their week-long trip with a 7-3 win over Juniata College.
The day's first game saw Messiah (3-6) jump out to an early 5-0 lead after two and a half innings. Carroll (3-5) scored their only runs of the game in the bottom of the third on an RBI triple off the bat of
Abby Curtis, and on a run-scoring single by
Sophia Schmidt. Messiah scored five runs in the sixth to put an end to the contest.
Two of Carroll's six hits came from Schmidt, while
Riley Pavelka struck out five batters in 3.2 innings of relief for the Pioneers. Messiah finished the game with 13 base knocks, with six of those going for extra bases, and three players finishing with a multi-hit game.
Carroll would then end the day on a positive note with a 7-3 win against Juniata, in which the Pioneers would never trail. They would get on the board first in the second when
Madison Hoagland scored on an error. Schmidt then added an RBI double in the third, which was followed by a run-scoring single off the bat of
Reagan Goluch.
The Pios continued to add to their lead in the fifth when
Avery Sorochan drove in two runs with a single down the left field line.
Sydney Raddeman then reached on an error, allowing two more runs to cross the plate, giving Carroll a 7-0 lead in the middle of the fifth inning. Juniata would score two runs in the bottom of the fifth and another in the seventh, but it was not enough.
Carroll registered 10 hits in the win, with two apiece coming from Sorochan, Raddeman, and
Bridget Rath. The Pioneers also finished the game with five stolen bases.
Andrea Kuhne (3-1) earned the victory, allowing three runs in the seven-inning complete game, while recording eight strikeouts. Juniata finished with six hits in the contest.
The Pios will be back in action on Monday when they'll play SUNY-Geneseo and Ithaca College at 4:15 and 6:30 p.m. ET, respectively. Both of those games will take place at Legends Way Ballfields in Clermont, Fla.
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