(Game 1
Box) (Game 2
Box)
FORT MYERS, Fla. - The Plymouth State University
softball team used the reliable combination of strong pitching and
error-free defense Sunday afternoon to capture its first two games
of the season at the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic.
The Panthers defeated Saint Lawrence University in the opening
game, 6-1, and came back with a 5-0 triumph over Western New
England College in the second contest. Keys to the wins were the
pitching efforts by junior Jenna George
(Cumberland, R.I.) and senior Courtney MacFarland
(Hampstead, N.H./Pinkerton). The two wins were the first of 10
games PSU will play this week on the Spring Break trip.
George held Saint Lawrence scoreless the first five innings of the
first game before surrendering a run in the sixth. George
worked into the seventh inning before MacFarland came on with the
bases loaded and got the final out on a strikeout to earn the save.
PSU got all the runs it would need in the second inning with a pair
of sacrifice flies by seniors Rachel Pothier
(Reading, Mass./Reading Memorial) and Heather
Bartolo (Derry, N.H./Pinkerton). Pothier added a
two-run single in the third inning to make it 4-0, and freshman
Allie Luisi (North Kingstown, R.I.) and sophomore
Andrea Pydynkowski (Danvers, Mass.) provided
insurance runs with RBI hits in the fourth inning.
MacFarland earned the complete-game shutout victory in the
nightcap, blanking WNEC on six hits and two walks while striking
out eight. It was the fifth career shutout for MacFarland. It
was also a little sweet revenge for PSU to defeat WNEC and pitcher
Laura Bower (Hudson, Mass.), who knocked the Panthers out of the
ECAC Tournament last season with a 1-0, nine-inning decision.
After three scoreless innings, PSU got on the board in the fourth
on doubles by Luisi and freshman Jen Skilton
(Bedford, N.H./Manchester West). Sophomore Kortney
Nedeau (Kennebunk, Maine) contributed a single that scored
two runs in the fifth inning to make it 3-0, and PSU tacked on
two more runs in the seventh inning on RBI hits by Luisi and
Pydynkowski.
The Panthers are back on the diamond Monday with two more games,
facing Centenary (N.J.) at 1:00 p.m. and Lasell College at 3:00
p.m.
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