Juniata Battles Hard with Dickinson, Drops Both Games

HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The Juniata College softball team lost two tough battles to Dickinson College Thursday afternoon at home.  The Eagles fell 3-0 in game one and then could not hold on in game two, losing 2-1 in the ninth inning.

Senior Steph Frith (Pottstown, Pa./Pottsgrove) led the Eagles offensively on the day.  She finished with four hits and scored the Eagles lone run.

Game One
Dickinson scored the eventual game winner in the third inning and put two more across in the fifth.  The Eagles had runners in scoring position multiple times, but Dickinson starter Chelsea Homa always worked her way out of the jam.  She pitched a complete game allowing just two hits, both to Frith, to earn the win.

Junior Kelsea Decker (Waynesboro, Pa./Waynesboro) received the loss and moved to 3-3 on the year.

Game Two
The Eagles offense struck first.  Frith led off the game with a single to left field.  She then stole second and advanced to third when the next batter grounded out to short.  Staying aggressive on the base path, the shortstop sprinted home on the next groundout putting Juniata up 1-0.

Freshman Aly Smith (McVeytown, Pa./Mount Union) started game two off on the right track in the circle for the Eagles.  She and the defense retired the first seven batters who stepped in the box.  The Eagles sat down 11 of the first 12 Red Devil hitters, holding onto the 1-0 lead until the top of the seventh inning. 

Dickinson's leadoff hitter singled through the left side. A series of errors put her on third and she scored the tying run on a wild pitch with one out.  Smith got out of the inning, but the damage was done and the game moved into extra innings using international tie breaking rules, starting with a runner on second.

Juniata had runners on second and third with no outs in the top of the eighth when sophomore Katie Schroeder (Kempton, Pa./Kutztown) singled to third.  Freshman Brooke Wills (Mifflinburg, Pa./Mifflinburg), who came in to pinch run, attempted to go home on the throw to first and was tagged out for the first out.  Cassie Blyler then hit Frith on a 2-2 count to load the bases.

Decker battled in the box with Blyler for 10 pitches before going down swinging.  The next batter popped out to end the inning.

Dickinson would go on to score the game winner on a sac fly to left with one out on the board.  Blyler earned the win and improved to 3-7.  Smith dropped to 3-4.

Juniata hits the road for the next three series.  The Eagles start at Landmark Conference rival Susquehanna University on Saturday, April 13. They then face Penn State Harrisburg (April 15) and Penn State Altoona (April 18) in non-conference action before returning home for senior day against Moravian on Saturday, April 20.

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