MADISON, N.J. (March 26, 2019) - The FDU-Florham softball team put up 11 runs in the bottom of the third inning as part of a 17-5 win in game two of a doubleheader against Centenary on Tuesday.
The Devils, who dropped the first game 6-2, moved to 2-10 on the season. The Cyclones are currently 5-11 after the split.
GAME 1: Centenary 6, FDU-Florham 2
The visiting Cyclones struck first, tallying two runs in their first at-bat of the game. After the Devils put a runner on first in the bottom of the first inning, Centenary doubled their lead in the second. They put up two tallies on a passed ball and a run-scoring triple. Freshman
Emma Gaffney reached on a two-out single in the second, but the Devils were unable to push a run across.
FDU would get on the board starting with a single from junior
Gabby Young. Young moved to second on an error and advanced to third on a groundout. With one out, sophomore
Dani Sames lofted a fly ball into center, scoring the speedster from third. The Cyclones closed out their scoring in the fifth with a pair of unearned tallies.
Freshman
Morgan DeLoreto led off the bottom of the fifth with a single and came all the way around to score on a Young single. Young had beat out a grounder, and the ball was thrown away, allowing the rookie DeLoreto to come all the way around. FDU would be unable to get any closer despite putting runners on base in each of the last two frames.
GAME 2: FDU-Florham 17, Centenary 5
Sophomore
Kaleigh Oplinger got the nod for the game two and made her presence known early getting three strikeouts in the first. Young was the catalyst in the first, leading off with a walk and stealing both second and third. With sophomore
Nicole Casale at the plate, Young scampered home a wild pitch to give the Devils a 1-0 lead. The Cyclones took the lead in the second, plating two runs. The damage was limited as junior
Annamarie Santangelo gunned out a runner out at the plate trying to score from second on a single.
The Devils struck for their most massive output in an inning this season in third, scoring 11 times to break the game open. Young led off with a walk and scored on an error before Casale knocked home a run with a sacrifice fly. FDU loaded the bags with two outs a pair of walks and a single before Santangelo doubled in two runs. Two more runs would score on wild pitches while Young plated another with an infield single. Sames continued the two-out surge with a single to center before Casale and DeLoreto ended the inning with RBI knocks.
The Cyclones got an unearned tally in the top of fourth before FDU finished their scoring in the home half of the inning. Sophomore
Hunter Ruppel led off with a triple before scooting home a wild pitch. Young singled again and was brought in on an RBI smash from sophomore
Alex Steele. Three batters later, DeLoreto capped off the run barrage with a three-run home run to left center field. Centenary scored twice in the fifth, but it was not enough as the Devils sealed the win with a pop-up to second.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- DeLoreto was 4-for-5 with a walk and four RBI's in the doubleheader. She collected her first career hit in the opening contest.
- Freshman Cierra Colon and Gaffney notched their first career hits, with Ruppel and Steele each earning their first base hits of the year.
- The 17 runs were the Devils most in a game since scoring 25 against Delaware Valley on March 19, 2016.
- Oplinger earned her first win of the season, striking out a career-high seven over the five innings.
UP NEXT
The Devils continue their homestand, welcoming King's College to campus on Saturday for a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.
