Gwynedd Valley, PA (April 28, 2006) – The Crusader softball team swept the Gwynedd-Mercy Griffins this afternoon in Gwynedd Valley, PA. Sophomore Beth Jablonowski (Philadelphia, PA/Archbishop Ryan) was the winner of game one by a score of 7-4, and junior Amanda Daher (Phoenixville, PA/Phoenixville) completed the sweep with a 9-2 victory in the second game.
In the first game, the Griffins struck first pushing across three runs in the bottom of the second inning off Jablonowski. Gwynedd-Mercy batted through their order, and although they only had three hits they were aided by two walks and one Crusader error. Griffin second basemen Smull delivered the definitive blow with a two-RBI single up the middle. After Jablonowski induced a pop-out to second base to end the inning, Alvernia quickly struck back in the next inning.
Freshman Lauren Crimi (Nazareth, PA/Notre Dame) reached on error to lead off the top of the first, and junior Cyndi Maul (Holland, PA/Archbishop Ryan) followed with another reach on error. After recording two outs, junior Suzanne Fox (Glassboro, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) laced an RBI single to center to score Crimi, and sophomore Jackie Rhoads (Dillsburg, PA/Northern York)brought around Maul and Fox with a line-drive double.
With the game now tied 3-3, Jablonowski settled down allowing no Gwynedd runs through the next four innings. Alvernia took the lead in the fourth when Crimi connected for a one-out triple to deep right field, and was brought in to score on a Hollie Dobson single. Junior Alyson McCready followed with a deep double to score Dobson. The Crusaders added one more run in the fifth and one in the sixth to extend their lead to 7-3. The Griffins battled back for one in the seventh but it was not enough to defeat the Crusaders.
The second game saw Alvernia once again in an early deficit. After falling behind 1-0 in the third inning, the Crusaders scored a run in the fifth to tie the game, and four more in each of the remaining two innings. Crimi delivered the go-ahead run RBI when she hit a hard grounder past the second basemen to score Rhoads who had led off the fifth with a double. Daher then ripped a line shot to right center with two out to score Jablonowski and Crimi.
The Crusaders continued their offensive barrage in the seventh inning when they loaded the bases on two singles and a walk. Right fielder Crimi brought them all around to score with her second triple of the day, to increase the Crusader lead to 8-1. Sophomore Shannon Higgins followed with a solid single up the middle to score Crimi.
Gwynedd once again rallied back for one run in the seventh, but could not create enough offense to recover from the eight-run deficit.
With the win, Alvernia has now secured a spot in the PAC Playoffs that will begin Wednesday May 3, 2006. This will be their first trip to the postseason in three years, after finishing out of the top six for the last two seasons. The Crusaders will wait for the results of remaining PAC games before their seed, and playoff game location is determined.
