(Game 1) / (Game 2)
Widener split a doubleheader with Neumann, notching a 5-1 victory in the opener before a gutwrenching 3-2, eight-inning loss in the nightcap.
Widener (21-15) in game one began things in the first inning when junior Caitlin Callahan (Franklin Square, NY) belted a solo home run for her fourth career long ball. Senior Krista Cesarine (Ridley Park, PA) made it 4-0 in the third with a two-RBI single.
Belle Mead, NJ junior Kim Dougherty (9-7) pitched solidly for the Pride, yielding one run and four hits over seven innings with three strikeouts. Cesarine, Callahan and senior Rachel O’Leary (Coatesville, PA) each had two hits.
Rachel Purpuro (5-3) was charged with five runs – four earned – and 10 hits over 4 1/3 innings for Neumann. Megan Mazur clubbed two hits.
The Pride in game two looked in great shape with senior Katie Mitchell (Drexel Hill, PA) lifting a sacrifice fly in the fourth and junior Steph Connolly (Aston, PA) hitting a mammoth solo home run in the sixth. It was her sixth long ball of the year and 11th career.
The hit extended Connolly’s career-best hitting streak to nine games, during which she is hitting .387 (12-for-31). The run is one game short of Callahan’s team season high.
But the Knights (25-9) scored twice in the seventh after having two outs and no one on base. Kimberly Kirkpatrick lined an RBI triple down the right-field line and Lauren Strack tied it on a run-scoring double to left.
Neumann in the eighth grabbed the lead on an RBI single up the middle from Gabrielle Lulias, scoring Mazur.
Widener in the bottom of the frame left the tying run at second base, squandering a game in which Neumann left 12 runners on base. The Pride stranded nine on the bags.
Cheltenham, PA sophomore Emily Donnelly (2-1) did all she could, yielding three runs – two earned – and 10 hits over eight innings. Senior Stephanie Caulford (Vineland, NJ) closed with two hits.
Brittany Campbell (1-1) allowed no runs, no hits and two walks over 1 2/3 innings for Neumann. Strack finished with three hits
Widener on Saturday ends the regular season with a doubleheader against Lebanon Valley on “Senior Day” at 1:00 pm. The Pride need just one win to clinch a berth in the Commonwealth Conference Tournament.