The Muhlenberg Weekly

Issue date: 4/5/07 Section: Sports

After being on a winter snow delay, the Softball Team finally took the field on March 24, nearly 15 days after their last game in Florida. They took on the Cortland Red Dragons. The girls looked a little rusty losing both games 9-2, 7-0. Sophomores RiRi Ferrigino and Sam Crist batted in the only runs of the games. Crist said, "The long break definitely affected us because we got into practice mode, and any momentum we gained in Florida was disrupted."

Three days later, the Mules played The College of New Jersey (TCNJ). The Softball Team hasn't been too successful playing TCNJ, having an overall record of 0-26 against them, but they were hoping to get that first win. The first game looked the same as the Mules lost 5-1 with Ferrigino driving in the only run. The second game started to look bad too when the Lions hit a three-run homer. The Mules rallied in the second inning when sophomore Lara Kestenbaum singled in a run, and then senior Hilary Marinchak hit a bases clearing triple to put the Mules up 4-3. Sophomore Michelle Consiglio batted in another run to make it 5-3. The game looked bright until the last inning when the Lions batted in four runs to win the game 8-5.

Putting the losses behind them, the Mules headed into Conference play when they faced Gettysburg College last Saturday. The Mules quickly dropped into a 4-0 hole going into the bottom of the 6th inning, when Crist stepped up to the plate with Marinchak on first and senior Katie Olson on second. Crist cracked one over the left field fence for her first career homerun to bring the Mules back 4-3. Ferrigino singled in the bottom of the 7th to send the game into extra innings. Unfortunately, the Bullets scored twice in the top of the 8th to win the game, but the late comeback sparked the Mules for the second game. The team was down 3-2 going into the 4th inning and that was when the show was put on. With patient batting, drawing walks and swinging at the right pitches, the Mules tallied seven runs and never looked back. Ferrigino and Crist batted in three and two runs respectively while freshman Alexa DeMiglio added two more with a triple. Junior pitcher Katie Vecchione helped her own cause, batting in a run as well. Kestenbaum picked up the save and the Mules picked up their first Conference victory.

Sam Crist was also named Player of the Week in the Centennial Conference. The outfielder hit .636 with three doubles, a home run, four runs scored and five RBI in four games last week. She also had a 1.182 slugging percentage and a .714 on-base percentage. When asked about the hitting streak, Crist stated, "I actually can't explain it. I'm just in the zone. I was frustrated with our performance recently and I focused that energy into practice and more importantly my game"

The Mules' (4-11, 1-1) next home game is Thurs., April 12 versus Cabrini.

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