BOX SCORE

Reading, Pa. (May 3, 2014) – Senior Sam Penk (Lincroft, N.J./Middletown South) hustled out a bloop double forcing an errant throw that allowed the winning run to scoring for fourth-seeded Alvernia University (20-13) in a 2-1 win over #5 Arcadia University (20-21) Saturday afternoon in an elimination game of the Commonwealth Conference Softball Championships at Angelica Park.
 
Penk tripled and scored in the fifth to tie the game at 1-1.  Rachel Fritz (Kenhorst, Pa./Governor Mifflin) singled to lead off the seventh and Penk hit a bloop down the line in right with one out.  She rounded the bag at first as the right fielder got to the ball and forced the throw to second that skipped off the shortstop's glove.  Fritz scored easily from third with the team pouring out of the dugout.
 
Both teams had plenty of baserunners in the early going.  Alvernia had a runner thrown out at the plate in the bottom of the first and Arcadia had one thrown out in the fourth.
 
Aly Shilling (Blue Bell, Pa./Christopher Dock) reached on an error to start the fourth and moved up on a walk.  She tried to score on a single to left off the bat of Fritz with two out, but got thrown out at the plate on a close play.
 
The Knights finally scored in the fifth.  The leadoff reached on a single, moved up on a sacrifice bunt, moved up on a groundout, and scored on a two-out single.
 
Alvernia got the run right back in the home half of the fifth.  Penk drove a pitch deep to right for a triple and Amanda Galanti (Red Bank, N.J./Academy of Marine Sci/Tech) dropped down a picture perfect suicide squeeze to tie the score.
 
Arcadia went in order in the sixth and seventh before Penk delivered again in the bottom of the last.
 
Arcadia is eliminated from the double-elimination tournament and Alvernia advances to face top-seeded Messiah in another elimination game.
 
#4 Alvernia 2, #5 Arcadia 1