CLERMONT, Fla.—Gordon Softball used an improbable comeback to earn a split of their two games in Florida on Thursday morning. The Fighting Scots fell 7-3 to Thiel College in the first game before mounting a historic rally in an 18-16 victory over Susquehanna. Gordon moves to 2-4 on the season entering their final two games in the Orlando area.
Game One: Thiel 7 – 3 Gordon Gordon held Thiel scoreless through the first two innings, including working out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the second. The Fighting Scots made the Tomcats pay with a run in the bottom half of the second, generating a run on an error by the Thiel shortstop.
The Tomcats responded with two runs in the third inning, as Jessica Kelley (Sarver, Pa.) led off the stanza with a double before stealing third base before Gordon could blink. Alana Callahan (Austintown, Ohio) brought Kelley in to score and later scored on a single by Madison Fullmer (Elyria, Ohio).
Thiel put the Scots in a deep hole with four more runs in the fifth inning as the Tomcats put the first six batters of the inning on base, including five consecutive singles. The Tomcats kept the hit parade going in the sixth inning, recording three more knocks to open up a 7-1 advantage.
Gordon tried to make a late rally in the seventh, scoring twice. Ultimately the comeback attempt fell short as
Emily Kline (Park Ridge, N.J.) fell to 0-2 to begin this season despite striking out four. Kelley earned the victory, her first of 2016.
Thiel connected for 14 hits on the morning, but only one hit went for more than a base. Gordon only mustered three hits in the contest.
Game Two: Gordon 18 – 16 Susquehanna Gordon looked good early with two runs in the bottom of the first on an RBI single by Sarah Ryder (Telford, Pa.) to left field.
However, Susquehanna looked to put the game out of reach over the next two innings by tagging the Scots with 16 runs. Gordon struggled to find any consistency in the field, committing six errors during those two frames and fell behind by 14 runs.
What seemed like an insurmountable lead at the time and a run rule hanging over their heads, Gordon exploded for a giant fourth inning in which they made it a four-run game. Errors plagued the Crusaders as well and Gordon took advantage of the mistakes to give them a sliver of hope.
The comeback became more of a reality in the fifth inning when Kline and Ryder led off the frame with back-to-back solo shots to center. Gordon tacked on another run at the end of the inning on another Crusaders' error to cut the gap to one score.
Ryder's fifth RBI of the game came in the bottom of the sixth inning, allowing Meenan to tie the game from second base. Alyssa Unumb (Bedford, Mass.) delivered the knockout punch with a two-RBI double to the gap in right field to score Ryder and Carleigh Petersen (North Hills, Calif.), making her softball debut.
Kline shut down the Crusaders in the top of the seventh with a 1-2-3 inning and closed out Gordon's second victory of the season.
Quick Notes:- Ryder's five-RBI effort was the most in a game since Meenan had five in a win against Wentworth on April 4, 2014.
- The Susquehanna game marks the largest comeback in the history of the program.
