LHU’s Irwin blasts walk-off homer in game one, Softball sweeps Bloomsburg
LOCK HAVEN – Hailey Irwin (Dillsburg, Pa./Northern York) walked off game one with a three-run homer to headline the Lock Haven softball team’s Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division sweep over Bloomsburg on Sunday afternoon (April 7) at Lawrence Field.
Lock Haven won game one, 3-2, before taking the nightcap, 6-2.
With the sweep, the Bald Eagles improve to 10-18 overall and 6-10 in the PSAC East and move one game shy in the win column of the fifth and final postseason position in the Eastern Division. Bloomsburg falls to 18-13 overall and 7-7 in the PSAC East.
Game 1 Recap: Lock Haven 3, Bloomsburg 2 (8 Innings)
In game one, Bald Eagle starter Keiva Middleton (Willow Street, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg) threw a gem, as she tossed all eight innings and limited the Huskies to two runs. The sophomore earned her third victory of the season.
Middleton tossed a shutout through seven-complete innings, but the Bald Eagles couldn’t push across a run, sending the game into extras.
The Huskies struck first in the extra frame, plating a pair runs in the top of the eighth.
In the bottom of the eighth, Delaney Good (Mifflinburg, Pa./Mifflinburg) started the Bald Eagles’ rally with a single, before Riley McClellan (Granville Summit, Pa./Troy) reached on an error.
With one out, Irwin sent a 3-2 pitch into the batting cage in left field to secure a 3-2 victory for Lock Haven.
The Bald Eagles finished with seven hits, led by a 3-for-3 effort from Summer Peters (Lancaster, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg) and three RBIs by Irwin. McClellan went 2-for-4, stole two bases and scored a run.
Game 2 Recap: Lock Haven 6, Bloomsburg 2
In the nightcap, the Huskies started the scoring with two runs in the top of the first, but Lock Haven matched their effort by plating a pair to knot the score at 2-2.
Peters and Bella Schmitt (Dillsburg, Pa./Northern York) picked up RBIs during the rally.
After allowing two runs in the first inning, Lock Haven game-two starter Faith Persing (Montgomery, Pa./Bloomsburg) (7-7) settled in nicely and held the Huskies off the scoreboard for the remainder of the game.
The Bald Eagles broke the tie with a five-run fifth inning, where they brought nine hitters to the plate and ultimately put the game out of reach, as Persing continued to deal on the mound.
The Haven recorded four hits in the inning and took advantage of two Huskie mishaps. Schmitt, Peters and Irwin all drove in runs during the rally.
Schmitt and Peters powered the Bald Eagles offense as they combined to finish 5-for-6 with four RBI and two runs scored.
Sunday’s doubleheader also served as the programs Sexual Assault Awareness Games.
NEXT UP:
The Bald Eagles remain home and will host Shippensburg University on Military Appreciation Day at Lawrence Field on Tuesday (April 7) starting at 2 p.m. (DH).
