The Morrisville State College softball team ended the 2016 version of the Route 20 rivalry with a North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) split Saturday afternoon, beating Cazenovia College 3-2 in the first game before falling 7-3 in the second game.
The decision puts the Mustangs at 6-12 overall, 2-6 in NEAC play, while Cazenovia falls to 8-8 overall, 4-2 in conference play.
In the first game of today’s action, Morrisville started off early in the first inning as Holly Gamlen (Cazenovia) hit an RBI single to left center field that scored Amanda Labe (Friedensburg, Pa.). Cazenovia’s pitcher Kelsey Morgan and Morrisville’s pitcher Brittany Keator (Roxbury) got into a pitching duel that left the score tied at 1 until the bottom of the sixth inning.
With two runners on base with two outs in the inning, Morrisville’s Elizabeth Marr (Lindenhurst) cranked a single to right field that broke the tie. Gamlen and Labe scored to push the lead to 3-1. Cazenovia would add a run in the top of the seventh inning, but couldn’t string together hits to even out the score.
Gamlen set the pace for the Mustangs in the game by going 3-3 at the plate, and contributing one RBI. Marr ended up going 1-3 in the game, with two crucial RBI’s that proved to be the difference. Nicole Chiappetta (Trumball, Conn.) went 2-3 and Labe went 1-2 in the game.
Keator picked up the win on the mound for the Mustangs, giving up two runs off of six hits.
In the second game of today’s action, Cazenovia struck first when Amanda Brand scored off an error by Chiappetta. Morrisville would even the score in the bottom of the inning when Bailey Dillabough (Massena) singled to drive in Chiappetta for the Mustangs first run of the day. Following a three run top of the fourth inning for Cazenovia, Morrisville’s Erika Kenney (Duanesburg) hit a triple to right center that sent home Bailey Martin (Brooklyn) to close the gap to 4-2 going into the top of the fifth.
Cazenovia would score two more at the top of the fifth and one in the top of the seventh to push the score to 7-2 going into the bottom of the seventh. Gamlen would finish off the Mustangs scoring with a two out single that scored Labe. Cazenovia would go on to get the final out to end the game.
Marr would set the pace for the Mustangs in the game by going 2-3 at the plate. Kenney and Dillabough would each finish 1-3 in the game, and each added an RBI in the game. Gamlen finished 1-4 in the game, but added an RBI.
Allison McGuire (Gilboa) picked up the loss on the mound for the Mustangs, giving up four runs off of six hits.