Naples, Fl. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford softball game won its 2nd game of the day on Sunday afternoon, defeating Anna Maria College 7-2.
The Panthers jumped in front right away, opening the scoring in the 1st. Faith McLaughlin drew a leadoff walk, and then promptly stole 2nd base. a batter later, Daytona Wentzel singled through the left side to bring in McLaughlin and put the Panthers ahead. In the bottom half, Ashton Beckerink made her first career start and put up a quick shutdown inning. After starting the inning with a groundout to short, Beckerink allowed a single to center, but quickly responded and got the next batter to ground into a 6-6-3 inning-ending double play.
Pitt-Bradford went down in order in the 2nd, as Kylee Hertlein was thrown out stealing to end the inning after a single to left. Anna Maria was able to tie the game in the 2nd, as the Panthers committed two errors and threw a wild pitch, allowing the AMCATs to score without a hit.
The Panthers did not let the momentum slip too far, however, as they came right back to score 3 runs in the next inning. Sadie Wood led off the frame with a single to left center. Following a sacrifice bunt, she stole third. McLaughlin drew her second free pass of the day and then quickly moved into scoring position with another stolen base. With one out and 2 in scoring position, Chloe Cordova came through with a big hit, hitting a two-run double into deep left field to restore the Panther advantage. A batter later, Wentzel delivered her second RBI hit of the game, grounding a hit back up the middle to bring Cordova around.
Beckerink took over from there, allowing the AMCATS just 3 hits over the next three innings, maintaining the three-run advantage. Her lead grew in the 6th as the Panthers tacked on two runs. Lexi Peters led off the inning with a hard line drive down the left field line. She was lifted for pinch runner Morgan Maybee, who moved to third as Meghan Kapp reached on an error. Kapp also received a pinch runner, as Lizzy Hoovler replaced her at first base. With runners on the corners and one out, the Panthers successfully pulled off a double steal, allowing Maybee to score. Later in the at-bat, Hertlein hit a soft single to center. Hoovler originally stopped at third on the play, but an errant throw back into the infield allowed her to scamper home and push the Panther lead to 6-2.
Beckerink struggled in the 6th, as the AMCATS were able to score a run on three early singles, but she was able to settle down and limit Anna Maria to just 1 run in the inning. The Panthers added a final insurance run in the 7th. Cordova hit a one-out triple to center and then scored a batter later as pinch-hitter Marguerite DeFranco reached on an error. Lindsay Steele replaced Beckerink to pitch the 7th inning and retired the side in order to end the game.
Beckerink picked up her first career victory, allowing 2 runs, 1 earned, on 8 hits in 6 innings pitched. Lindsay Steele pitched a perfect 7th to finish the game. Chloe Cordova went 2 for 4 in the game, picking up a pair of extra-base hits, 2 runs scored and 2 more driven in. Daytona Wentzel finished 2 for 3 with 2 RBIs. Kylee Hertlein also picked up a multi-hit game, going 2 for 3 with two singles.
The Panthers move to 2-2 on the season after winning both games on their first day of competition in Florida. They will be right back in action tomorrow with two more games. They take on Swarthmore at 9:00 a.m. and then Haverford at 11:00. Both games will be played at the Lee County Sports Complex in Fort Myers.
