NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Sophomore Ashley Schoenstadt (Gap, Pa./Pequea Valley) led the Lycoming College softball team on Thursday, March 10, with four hits, a triple and six RBI, pacing the team to a 9-1 five-inning win over Hilbert and a 10-6 victory over Gwynedd Mercy at the North Myrtle Beach Sports Complex.
 
Schoenstadt had two hits in each game to lead the Warriors (6-1 overall), as she posted four RBI and a run against Hilbert (3-6 overall) and two RBI and a run against Gwynedd Mercy (4-2 overall).
 
Lycoming came back from a five-run deficit in the nightcap, using a seven-run third inning to overpower Gwynedd Mercy and notch a 10-6 win.
 
With the score 5-3 heading into the bottom of the third inning, senior Kristi Weaver (Milton, Pa./Milton Area) started the rally with a single, before junior Morgan Kunes (Beech Creek, Pa./Central Mountain) and sophomore Samantha Fischer (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport Area) singled to load the bases. An obstruction call helped Weaver score and senior Dominique Thomas (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport Area) reach before junior Kelcie Crabb (Millmont, Pa./Mifflinburg) singled to tie the game. Senior Chelsey Poorman (Bellefonte, Pa./Bald Eagle Area) and Schoenstadt followed with two-RBI singles to clear the bases. Schoenstadt also came around to score to give Lycoming a 10-5 lead.
 
The Griffins took an early lead with a five-run first inning, that featured two hits, two errors and two walks. Lycoming worked back into the game with two runs in the bottom of the frame, as senior Elisa Novak (Ambler, Pa./Germantown Academy) and junior Rachael Shady (Lock Haven, Pa./Central Mountain) each singled before Kunes drove a two-out double to left field to drive them in. In the second inning, Thomas led off with a triple before Crabb drove her in with a single to center field.
 
After the first, Shady allowed just four hits and two walks in the last six innings, surrendering a sixth-inning run thanks to a two-out double by Becki Christoffers.
 
Lycoming pounded 14 hits in the game, with Novak, Kunes, Fischer and Crabb, with Kunes and Crabb each driving in two. Christoffers led the Griffins, as she went 3-for-4 with a RBI.
 
Shady (3-0) earned the win, allowing six hits and two earned runs while striking out seven and walking four. Kim Machalette took the loss for the Griffins, allowing 12 hits and 10 runs in 2 1/3 innings. Michele Arechavala tossed 3 2/3 innings in relief, striking out three and allowing two hits and a walk.
 
In the first game, Lycoming scored seven runs in the final two frames to roll past Hilbert, 9-1, in a run-rul shortened game, while Weaver tossed a complete-game five-hitter.
 
Lycoming broke through in the third inning, when Crabb led off with a walk. After a groundout, a throwing error helped Schoenstadt reach and bring pinch-running freshman Rachel Duda (Jersey Shore, Pa./Jersey Shore Area) around to score. Another error on the infield moved Schoenstadt to third, where she scored on a sac fly by Shady.
 
Hilbert responded with a run in the bottom of the fourth, scoring off the run off an error, but Weaver left the tying run stranded at second base by getting a strikeout looking to end the inning. In the bottom of the inning, the Warriors batted around and scored four runs to get some breathing room.
 
Kunes led off the frame with an infield single before a throwing error on a sac bunt helped Kunes score and sophomore Heather Secord (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown Area) reach second base. After a groundout, an error scored Secord. Poorman followed with a double down the right field line before Schoenstadt and Novak each notched RBI singles.
 
Lycoming ended the game in the fifth, as Secord doubled to center field to lead off. After a groundout, she took third on a wild pitch and scored on a single up the middle by Crabb. After Poorman walked, Schoenstadt ended the game with a triple to deep center field, driving in both runners.
 
Weaver (2-1) struck out five and walked none in the solid performance to become the eighth pitcher in school history to win 20 career games, while Jaelyn Gotham (1-3) took the loss, as she allowed five hits and one earned run in four innings. She walked one and struck out one.
 
The Warriors wrap up their trip in Myrtle Beach on Friday morning, March 11, facing Robert Morris-Springfield at 9:30 a.m. and Hunter at 11:30 a.m.