WASHINGTON - The Gallaudet University softball team's season-opening homestand came to a successful end with a pair of victories over Sarah Lawrence College on a sunny and breezy Saturday afternoon at the GU Softball Complex.
 
Game 1: Gallaudet 10, Sarah Lawrence 1 (F/5 Innings)
The first game of the day opened up with a bang, as starting pitcher Lacey Drolsbaugh (Lansdale, Pa.) hit a home run to left field to start a 10-run unanswered scoring streak for the Bison as they erased a 1-0 deficit in the bottom of the first inning. Three more runs would be tacked on in the same inning to extend the lead to 4-1, punctuated by a run-scoring triple from senior infielder Caitlyn Smith (Indianapolis, Ind.). A pair of runs were added on in the bottom of the second inning to further the lead to 6-1.

Gallaudet took complete control of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning with a four-run inning to go up 10-1, to activate the eight-run mercy rule after five innings into effect. Drolsbaugh ended the game in the circle with a pair of strikeouts and a complete game, as she only gave up a run in the first inning and two hits to go with six strikeouts. Shirin Pechefsky hurled a complete game for the Gryphons.

Game 2: Gallaudet 13, Sarah Lawrence 4 (F/5 Innings)
Starting pitcher Olivia Wascher (Noblesville, Ind.) made her first appearance of the season in the circle and pitched a solid game, getting the win, as GU rolled to a 13-4 victory in five innings.

The real fireworks, however, came in the bottom of the first inning as the Bison exploded for a nine-run inning, with two back-to-back inside-the-park home runs by Drolsbaugh and catcher Lou Cherena (El Paso, Texas) providing the exclamation point on an early 9-1 lead.

Nearly every player on Gallaudet's roster would contribute to the eventual second win of the season. Senior first baseman Anya Pothorski (Columbus, Ohio) chipped in a pair of hits and three RBI and outfielder Karla Gomez-Zepeda (Santa Rosa, Calif.) had three hits and two RBI for Gallaudet (2-6).

The Gryphons (0-4) staged a late rally in the top of the fifth inning, as they plated three runs before they hit into a double play to end the game early due to the eight-run mercy rule.

UP NEXT
Gallaudet will go on the road tomorrow (Sunday, March 9) for the first time this season, heading down to Raleigh, N.C., for the Triangle Collegiate Softball Tournament where they will face Ferrum College at 9:30 a.m. and North Carolina Wesleyan University at noon.