WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – Continuing their Florida trip, the Emmanuel College softball team played another doubleheader Tuesday evening at the DiamondPlex Field Complex in Clearwater. The Saints faced fellow Massachusetts school Clark University in the first game, falling 7-5. In the second game, Emmanuel was defeated by Concordia (Wis.) 8-0 (F/5).
Game 1: Clark 7, Emmanuel 5
Francesca Pizzarella sparked the Saints early, drawing a leadoff walk and advancing on a passed ball before
Taylor Chelak's double to left brought in the first run.
Madison Marks followed with a two-out RBI single, bringing home Chelak to extend the lead to 2-0. In the bottom half,
MeKayla Poisson stranded two Clark baserunners to keep Emmanuel in front after one.
Despite a
Mia Fernandes single, Emmanuel was unable to add to their lead in the top of the second. In the bottom half, four straight walks to begin the inning brought in Clark's first run before two infield errors helped the Cougars pull ahead, taking a 4-2 lead after two.
Emmanuel answered in the third, tying the game at four. With two outs,
Madison Marks and
Molly Carnes singled to put the Saints in position to strike.
Rebecca Markie stepped up, sending a double down the left field line and bringing in two runs to even the score.
The Cougars' offense came alive again in the bottom of the fourth as they looked to reclaim the lead. After a leadoff strikeout, Clark strung together three straight singles, with
Rebecca Mauro driving in the go-ahead run on the third. Later in the inning
, Ella Traynor delivered a two-out double, adding two more runs for a 7-5 Clark advantage.
Both teams were held scoreless in the fifth and sixth innings, unable to bring in any additional runs. In the top of the seventh, a walk by
Abigail Farr and a double from Chelak brought the Saints within two, but the offense was unable to push across any more runs as Emmanuel fell 7-5.
Taylor Chelak,
Madison Marks, and
Mia Fernandes each tallied two hits for the Saints, with Chelak and Marks also driving in two RBI. For Clark,
Madison Dillon finished with a pair of hits, while
Ella Traynor added two RBI.
Hannah Wagstaff earned the win in the circle, and
Brooke Buzzeo closed it out with a save.
Game 2: Concordia (Wis.) 8, Emmanuel 0 (F/5)
In the top of the first, Concordia (Wis.) jumped out to a 1-0 lead as
Jess Pozezinski doubled to left center, advanced to third, and scored on wild pitches. Despite a leadoff base hit from
Francesca Pizzarella, Emmanuel could not generate any more offense in the inning and trailed by one heading into the second.
Back-to-back singles with one out in the second put runners on the corners for Concordia (Wis.). A successful double steal brought in another run, with
Rylie DuVal sliding in safely to extend the Falcons' lead to 2-0. Emmanuel threatened in the bottom half with runners on second and third but could not cut into the deficit.
After both teams went scoreless in the third and fourth innings, Concordia (Wis.) broke through again in the top of the fifth, adding six runs to their lead. The Falcons tallied four singles and two triples, with
Adrianna Martinez's single bringing in the final run, giving them an 8-0 lead and putting them in run-rule position.
Emmanuel placed runners on first and second with one out in the bottom of the fifth, hoping to extend the game. However, a strikeout and groundout ended the Saints' rally as they fell 8-0 (F/5).
Taylor Chelak led the Saints' offense, going 2/3 with a double in the loss. For the Falcons,
Jess Pozezinski also finished 2/3 with a double, while
Rylie DuVal went 3-for-3 with two RBI.
Emma Shellstrom earned the win, scattering five hits across five innings of work.
Up next, the Saints will have an off day in Florida before returning to the DiamondPlex Field Complex on Thursday (3/6) for matchups with Dominican (Ill.) at 9:00 AM and Elizabethtown at 2:00 PM.
