WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Sophomore Morgan Wetzel (Mill Hall, Pa./Central Mountain) led the Lycoming College softball team on Saturday, as she wrapped five hits to extend her hitting streak to 14 games and boosting her batting average above .400, but the team fell twice to Wilkes University in MAC Freedom action, falling 4-2 in the first game and 9-4 in the second at the Shangraw Athletic Complex on Sunday, April 18.
 
Wetzel went 5-for-8 with a double in the doubleheader, knocking three hits in the first game and two in the second, as the center fielder tied Jeanine Evans' 14-game hitting streak in 1999 as the fourth-longest in program history while she increased her season batting average to .417 (30-of-72)
 
In the first game, the Warriors (10-10 overall, 9-7 MAC Freedom) took a lead in the sixth inning before Wilkes (5-15 overall, 5-11 MAC Freedom) came-from-behind in the seventh to score three runs for a 4-2 win.
 
The Warriors tied the game at one in the bottom of the fifth, as junior Kacee Reitz (Milton, Pa./Milton Area) singled up the middle with two outs and Wetzel drilled a double in the left-center field gap to score Reitz.
 
In the bottom of the sixth, they took the lead, as senior Taylor Gessner (Lewisburg, Pa./Meadowbrook Christian) led off with a single through the left side. After a fielder's choice, pinch-hitting sophomore Madalyn Bechdel (Beech Creek, Pa./Central Mountain) singled to right and sophomore Kaleigh Kinley (Bellefonte, Pa./Bald Eagle Area) drew a walk to load the bases with two outs. First-year Kylie Russell (Jersey Shore, Pa./Jersey Shore Area) worked a full count and fouled off a pitch before a pitch up and out allowed her to walk to score the go-ahead runner from third.
 
Wilkes knocked six straight hits in the seventh, though, with a bases-loaded double from Emma Stauffer driving in three to give the Colonels a 4-2 lead.
 
In the bottom of the inning, the Warriors used a pair of singles from Wetzel and Gessner to get the tying run to second base, but Wilkes' Rhea Aurand was able to get the last two outs to end the game.
 
Wilkes got on the board thanks to a walk, a groundout and a two-out single from Haley Boyd in the top of the fifth.
 
Wetzel led the Warriors, going 3-for-4 with a RBI double and Gessner went 2-for-4.
 
Erin Cabry finished 3-for-4 and Haley Boyd went 2-for-3 with a run and RBI to lead Wilkes.
 
Junior Angie King (Cooperstown, Pa./Maplewood) (4-7) took the loss for the Warriors, allowing six hits and three runs in 6 1/3 innings. She walked two and struck out four. Hope Mullins (3-2) earned the win for the Colonels, allowing seven hits and two runs in 4 1/3 innings.
 
In the second game, the Warriors scored three in the first, but a six-run fourth helped Wilkes take control in the 9-4 win.
 
Bechdel singled with one out in the first before Gessner walked. After a strikeout, Reitz singled to right to score Bechdel and Glosek followed with a double down the right field line to bring in two runs. After Wilkes scored the next nine runs, the Warriors used an error and a walk, plus a single up the middle by Kinley to score the last run in the seventh inning.
 
Sarah Gibson led the Colonels, going 3-for-4 with a run and three RBI, as she had two doubles, and Caylee-Mae Williams, who went 3-for-5 with two runs and an RBI.
 
Wetzel went 2-for-4, along with Bechdel, who also scored a run. Sophomore Mackenzie Glosek (Coal Township, Pa./Shamokin Area) also went 2-for-4 with a two-RBI double.
 
Rhia Aurand (2-4) tossed a complete game for Wilkes, allowing 10 hits and three earned runs. She walked four and struck out three. Sophomore Payton Whary (Coal Township, Pa./Shamokin Area) (4-2) took the loss for Lycoming, as she allowed six earned runs in four innings. She struck out four.
 
The Warriors get back on the field on Tuesday, April 20, when they host Arcadia in a MAC Freedom doubleheader at 3 p.m. at the Shangraw Athletic Complex.