STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The Wagner softball team won the second game of its doubleheader against FDU on Friday, bouncing back with a 5-4 victory after a 6-2 loss in game 1. With the split, the Seahawks still have yet to clinch a spot in the NEC Softball Tournament.
FDU's bats started the first game on fire; each of the first five batters reached and three of those runners scored, all before Wagner recorded an out. In total, the Knights scored five runs on six hits and a couple of fielding errors by the Seahawks defense.
They would get two of those runs back by scoring in the first and second innings. After senior first baseman Geanice Morales walked to lead off the frame, senior shortstop Payton Janicki brought her home with an RBI single. In the next inning, sophomore designated player Alayna Giampolo brought home the second run of the game for the Seahawks with an RBI single of her own, leaving the Seahawks trailing 5-2.
Junior starting pitcher Karson Zavala settled back into her groove after the five-run first, as she faced the minimum in the next two innings, and shut out the Knights for three more innings after that. However, the Seahawks offense couldn't muster a run after the second inning, and after the Knights scored one more run in the seventh, they finished the game on top 6-2.
The second game started off better for the home team, as freshman starting pitcher Samantha Lotus set down the Knights 1-2-3 in the first inning. In the bottom half of the frame, the Seahawks plated two runs, giving them their first lead of the twin bill.
Junior third baseman Sydnie Trujillo scored Giampolo from second base on an RBI hit, then Janicki came to bat and collected her second RBI single of the doubleheader. The Seahawks followed that up with another two runs in the second inning, thanks to a two-run single from senior left fielder Lea Rachel.
Giampolo picked up another RBI hit in the fourth inning, to knock the FDU starter out of the game. Wagner would not score any more runs after this, and FDU took advantage with two RBI singles and a run-scoring error in the top of the sixth inning, cutting the Wagner lead down to 5-3.
Wagner pitching left 16 FDU runners stranded, and despite allowing a two-out RBI hit in the top of the seventh, Lotus stranded the last two runners of the game by forcing a groundout to shortstop, giving Wagner the 5-4 win.
The Seahawks will complete the series with the rubber game on Sunday, April 26. First pitch is set for 12 p.m., and will air on NEC Front Row.
