MARCH 17, 2016

KING'S SOFTBALL SPLITS WITH LYCOMING

WILLIAMSPORT -- The King's College softball team split a doubleheader at Lycoming College Thursday in Williamsport. King's won the first game 4-3 before dropping the nightcap 13-7.

King's now stands at 7-7 while Lycoming is 9-2.

In the opener King's took a 2-0 lead in the fourth when Nicole Turner doubled and Alizabeth Ellsworth was hit by a pitch. Shelby Eby then followed with a two-run triple to get King's on the board.

The Monarchs added two more runs in the fifth when Samantha Bloom was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a wild pitch. Nicole Turner drew a two-out walk and Bloom scored on a passed ball. After two more walks loaded the bases, Amy Kowalczyk drew a bases-loaded walk to plate Turner for a 4-0 lead.

Lycoming added a run in the bottom of the fifth and two more in the seventh before King's starter Rachel Linso recorded the final out to pick up the win.

Eby was 1-for-4 with a two-run triple while Kelcie Senchak was 2-for-4. Ellsworth was 1-for-2 with one run scored while Turner finished 1-for-2 with two runs scored. Linso picked up the win, scattering five hits in the game.

In the second game King's took a 2-0 lead in the first inning when Samantha Bloom doubled and scored on a single by Senchak. Kowalczyk later drove in Senchak from third on an infield ground out.

But Lycoming scored two runs in the second inning, five in the third and one in the fourth to build a 8-2 lead.

King's scored twice in the fifth when Bloom and Senchak singled and Kowalczyk and Rachael DeTore followed with a RBI double and run-scoring single respectively to cut the lead to 8-4.

But Lycoming countered with three in the bottom of the fifth to forge ahead 11-4.

King's added three runs in the sixth on the strength of a RBI double by Zina Knight, a two-run double from Eby, and a run-scoring single from Senchak to trim the lead to 11-7.

But Lycoming put the game away with two runs in the sixth to push the lead to 13-7. King's loaded the bases in the seventh with two outs but an infield out ended the comeback bid.

Bloom was 3-for-5 with a double and two runs while Senchak was 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI. Kowalczyk finished 2-for-2 with two RBI while Eby was 2-for-3 with a two-run double. Ellsworth, Knight, and Brittany McNair, each added two hits for the Monarchs.

King's returns to action Saturday when the Monarchs open Freedom Conference play with a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader at Manhattanville College in Purchase, NY.