CLERMONT, Fla.—Gordon Softball dropped a pair of games on the season's opening day, falling to Smith 4-1 before losing to RIT 7-0. The Fighting Scots scored a run in their very first at bat, but could not find an offensive rhythm the rest of the evening to drop to 0-2 in 2017.
Game One
Sophomore Megan Jenkerson (McDonough, Ga.) provided fireworks in the very first at bat of the season for the Fighting Scots. The utility player packed a punch atop the lineup a season ago and was back to her old ways with a ball launched over the centerfield wall to give the Fighting Scots the quick 1-0 lead.
The Fighting Scots kept up the pressure in the inning as Emily Kline (Park Ridge, N.J.) walked and Sarah Ryder (Telford, Pa.) singled to put two on with two outs. However, Smith was able to get the next batter out to limit the damage.
The Pioneers did some threatening of their own in the first frame with two one-out singles and an error by the Gordon infield. However, Kline was able to pitch out of the jam by getting a pop to short and a ground ball to third to keep the game at 1-0.
Smith held Gordon scoreless in the second and took a lead in their half of the stanza. After Kline got the first two Pioneers out, Smith strung together three consecutive hits to put a pair of runs on the board. Tyler Feeney (Merrimac, Mass.) got the rally started with a double before Emily Townsend (Mill Valley, Calif.) singled into shallow left to plate the first run. Senior Brittney Blokker (Seattle, Wash.) ended the tie with another two-out double and Smith took a 2-1 lead into the third.
The Pioneers added to their lead in the bottom of the third with another two-out rally spurred on by a double and single back to back. Alyssa Pioggia (E. Longmeadow, Mass.) and Ruth Zimmerman (Edison, N.J.) came up with the big knocks for the Pioneers.
Pioggia and Zimmerman connected for another run in the fifth to make it a three-run game.
On the other side of the line, Gordon was unable to get a runner past second base after the first inning. The Fighting Scots had a few chances to chip away at the lead, but were unable to move runners into scoring position down the stretch.
Kline took the loss for Gordon, giving up three earned runs on nine hits in four and two thirds innings. Freshman Caitlin Catalanotto (Kingston, N.H.) threw a perfect 1.1 innings of relief for the Scots.
Smith junior Rowan Turner (Kansas City, Kan.) pitched a complete game to earn the win, while striking out eight Scots.
Game Two
Gordon's offense ran into another tough matchup against RIT in the finale of the day. The Fighting Scots could only muster one hit against junior Lauren Mahar (Rotterdam, N.Y.) in the seven innings.
The Tigers were tough to stop on offense too, as freshman Erin Guinan (Geneva, N.Y.) piled up four hits and two RBI at the top of the lineup. RIT second baseman Olivia Doret (Fairfax, Va.) also had a strong game with three hits, while Alexandria Lunderman (Manlius, N.Y.) chipped in two RBI in the cleanup role.
Down 3-0, Gordon's best chance at climbing back into the game came in the bottom of the fifth. Rose Shannon (Ashland, Mass.) led off the inning with a walk before Emily Burkhart (Manheim, Pa.) reached on an error with no outs. Kali Denty (Marshfield, Mass.) moved the runners over, but RIT caught a sharp liner and finished off a ground ball to end the inning without allowing a run.
The Tigers scored once more in the sixth and three times in the seventh to push the score even further out.
Up Next:
The Fighting Scots will look to get into the win column tomorrow with two more games beginning with Gallaudet (4-3-1) at 10 a.m. The Scots then take on Scranton (1-3) at 3:30 p.m.
