Catholic Silences Saints Bats in 9-1 Florida Tilt

AUBURNDALE, Fla. - Catholic University used 13 hits and a pair of three-run blasts to put away Emmanuel College, 9-1 in six innings, on Friday afternoon in Day 4 softball action of The Spring Games in Auburndale, Fla.

Catholic Silences Saints Bats in 9-1 Florida Tilt
Box Score

Team Stats

March 10, 2023

THE BASICS 
Emmanuel College, 1 vs. Catholic Univ., 9 (6 inn.)

Records: 
Emmanuel Saints (4-3, 0-0 GNAC)
Catholic Cardinals (6-5, 0-0 Landmark)

Location: Auburndale, Fla. - Auburndale Softball SportsPlex Field 3

Date: Friday, March 10, 2023

THE LEAD – Catholic University used 13 hits and a pair of three-run blasts to put away Emmanuel College, 9-1 in six innings, on Friday afternoon in Day 4 softball action of The Spring Games in Auburndale, Fla.

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • CU junior catcher Kaitlyn Murphy (Manorville, N.Y.) broke a 1-1 tie in the fourth, blasting a three-run homer to left that just cleared the outfield fence to pull the Cardinals ahead, 4-1.
  • The squads traded runs over the first two innings with Catholic striking for one in the first. First year Katie Scolese (Alexandria, Va.) connected on a two-out RBI single to left to drive in sophomore Amanda Gomez (West Chester, Pa.) to start the scoring and put the Cardinals on top, 1-0.
  • In the top of the second, EC answered as first year Mackenzie Briggs (West Warwick, R.I.) drew a walk, stole second and came around to score thanks to a CU error to even the score at 1-1 through two innings.
  • The Saints threatened in the fifth, putting two in scoring position with only one out. CU junior pitcher Justina Benvenuto (Berkeley Heights, N.J.) worked out of the jam to strand the runners on second and third recording back-to-back strikeouts to escape the jam with a 4-1 cushion.
  • Emmanuel loaded the bases in the sixth but again Benvenuto worked out of the jam unscathed to keep the Cardinal lead at 4-1 heading into the late stages of the contest.
  • Catholic then pushed across five unearned runs in the bottom of the sixth to end the game early with a run-rule victory, highlighted by a walk-off three-run blast to right-center field by first year Aubrynn Arcement (New Orleans, La.) to account for the 9-1 final.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

  • The home runs for Arcement and Murphy were both the first of their collegiate careers. Arcement finished the day with a 3-for-4 showing with three RBI and two runs scored.
  • CU starting pitcher Katie Hurd (Collegeville, Pa.) picked up the win to move to 2-2 on the year, working 4.0 innings and allowing just the one unearned run on two hits while striking out four. Benvenuto closed the game with two scoreless innings to earn her second save of the campaign.
  • EC senior Tianna Dawe (Lynn, Mass.) suffered the loss to fall to 1-3 in the early goings of the 2023 campaign.
  • Emmanuel first year Christyna Winstead (Uncasville, Conn.) posted another 2-for-3 performance at the plate, her third multi-hit game in a row for the Saints.

UP NEXT

  • Emmanuel and Catholic are back in action momentarily as the Saints play Fontbonne University at 4:30 PM while the Cardinals take on fellow GNAC foe Rivier University at the same time.