Juniata Falls Short in Doubleheader Against Worcester St. and McDaniel

Game 1: Worcester St. 14, Juniata 3

Juniata fell to Worcester St. 14-3 in the first game of the day, despite a strong effort at the plate early on. After Worcester St. took a 1-0 lead in the second inning, Juniata quickly responded. Dani Berlin drew a bases-loaded walk, scoring Reagan Goldsmith to even the game at 1-1.

In the fourth inning, Eva Johnson doubled to bring home Skyler Howlett, and Alex Douglass followed with a sacrifice fly that plated Berlin, cutting the deficit to 5-3. However, Worcester St. broke the game open with four runs in the fifth and five more in the sixth.

Johnson and Alison Superka each recorded a double, while Berlin, Johnson, and Douglass drove in Juniata's runs. Rylea Lynch got the start, allowing one run over 2.2 innings. Gracie Ruch (0-1) took the loss, giving up four runs in 0.2 innings. Worcester St. tallied 20 hits and took advantage of three Juniata errors to secure the win.

Game 2: McDaniel 10, Juniata 6

Juniata came out strong in game two but couldn't hold off McDaniel, falling 10-6. The Eagles jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning. Jessie Hunt's two-run double got things started, followed by an RBI single from Alison Superka and a sacrifice fly by Emily Eutsey to cap off the big inning.

McDaniel responded with a five-run third inning, taking advantage of a pair of walks and a Juniata error to take a 6-4 lead. They added four more runs in the fifth, stretching the gap to 10-4.

Juniata fought back in the sixth. Claire Thomas singled to right, driving in Reagan Goldsmith, and Douglass followed with an RBI single to cut the lead to 10-6. However, the Eagles couldn't complete the comeback.

Thomas led the offense with three hits, while Hunt and Douglass each recorded two RBIs. Gracie Ruch took the loss, allowing six runs (five earned) over 2.1 innings. Maryn Swank provided 3.1 innings of relief, giving up four runs while striking out two.

Juniata will close out their Florida trip with with two games against the University of New England and the Milwaukee School of Engineering tomorrow morning.