WASHINGTON – The Gallaudet University softball team picked up two wins here Friday evening over Cairn University in a Skye/Volt Division crossover doubleheader at the GU Softball Complex.
Gallaudet (4-4) took the first game 6-4 and then won a pitchers' duel, 3-1, over Cairn (1-13) in the second game.
Game 1: Gallaudet 6, Cairn 4
GU scored three runs in the first and fourth innings and fended off a comeback bid by the Highlanders in the later innings.
First-year catcher
Andi Sisemore (Arlington, Texas) smacked a two-run triple to right-center field and scored on a throwing error to give Gallaudet the early 3-0 lead.
Cairn got on the scoreboard with two runs in the top of the second and later took a 4-3 lead in the fourth.
The Bison knotted the game at 4-4 when
Karla Gomez-Zepeda (Santa Rosa, Calif.) singled to the shortstop as sophomore outfielder
Lou Cherena (El Paso, Texas) raced home from third base. Sophomore outfielder/pitcher
Lacey Drolsbaugh (Lansdale, Pa.) tripled down the left field line to plate pinch-runner
Alina Williamson (Jefferson, Md.) as the buff and blue regained the lead, 5-4.
GU added one additional insurance run in the three-run fourth when first-year infielder
Olivia Taufu'i (Blackfoot, Idaho) recorded an infield hit as Drolsbaugh darted home.
Drolsbaugh (2-2) controlled things from the fourth inning on in the circle. In four innings of work, Drolsbaugh allowed no runs on one hit, walked one and struck out three to pick up the win.
Cherena pitched the first three innings for the Bison and tallied two strikeouts.
Sydney Wright (0-6) took the loss for the Highlanders as Wright surrendered six runs (five earned) on nine hits and three strikeouts in three innings pitched.
Game 2: Gallaudet 3, Cairn 1
In the second game, sophomore pitcher
Christina Elsbury (Uniontown, Ohio) helped her own cause with a triple down the right field line to bring home Drolsbaugh for the early 1-0 lead. Elsbury scored moments later as she beat a throw at the plate.
GU held the 2-0 lead and added a third run in the bottom of the third when Sisemore singled up the middle to plate Elsbury.
In the circle, Elsbury (2-2) was in complete control as she allowed one unearned run on seven hits, one walk, six strikeouts in seven innings of work to record the complete game.
Cairn pitcher Evelyn Johnson (1-7) went the distance for the Highlanders as Johnson allowed three runs on four hits, two walks and struck out a game-high eight batters.
BISON TRACKS
- The games today marked the final games worked by GU Athletic Trainer Ilana Bell, who stepped down this week to pursue other professional opportunities
- This was the first time these two teams faced each other since the 2018 season
- GU swept both games vs Cairn in 2018 with two mercy rule games; 13-5 in six innings and 9-1 in six.
- The Bison are now 4-0 vs. Cairn
UP NEXT
Gallaudet will play host to Notre Dame of Maryland University (4-6) on Sunday, March 24, at noon at the GU Softball Complex.