Rush the lone bright spot in softball’s 1-6 stretch | The Triangle

Rush the lone bright spot in softball’s 1-6 stretch

Rush

The Drexel University softball team lost six of its last seven games after losing to the College of Charleston three times in CAA play on April 15 and 16. They then split games with Wagner University in a double header on the road on April 18, and then lost on the road to La Salle University twice in a doubleheader on April 19th.

In the first doubleheader on Saturday against the College of Charleston, Drexel got off to a hot start in both games but couldn’t sustain it throughout.

In the first game, after a 3-0 start in the first inning, Drexel was only able to score two runs. The first came in the 5th inning when senior Baeley Reed singled to left field, which allowed freshman Linda Rush to come home. The Dragons scored another run in the seventh when senior Vanessa Lightfoot doubled to center, allowing senior Savanna Johnson to reach home.

In the second game, the standout player was Johnson, who scored two runs and got a hit within the first two innings. However, after that, Drexel wasn’t able to produce any runs.

Drexel went into Sunday’s game with the College of Charleston looking for redemption. The Dragons tried hard to keep themselves in the game, but after the Cougars scored on a passed ball in the bottom of the sixth, Drexel lost its momentum. Charleston came away with a 7-4 victory.

The first game of the doubleheader with Wagner was a good one for the Dragons, with Drexel winning without allowing any runs. Senior Tara Konopka gained her sixth win on the mound with a season high seven strikeouts. Sophomore Jenelle Ladrido also had a standout performance, going two-for-four with an RBI and a run scored.

In the second game Drexel was able to produce 14 hits, but it just wasn’t enough. The Dragons lost in grueling fashion. After being up four going into the bottom of the seventh, Drexel allowed Wagner to rip off five runs for a come-from-behind victory.

The second game was a beauty if you like offense. Baeley Reed was a perfect three for three with had four RBI’s and a run scored . Freshman Mari Gardner went 3-4 and Savanna Johnson went 2-3, but Wagner would not go away and proved to have the hotter bats. They won in walk off fashion when second baseman Karen Prihoda singled to center field to score the winning run. Prihoda also had a game high of four hits.

In the first game of the double header with LaSalle, the explorers kept the hits coming in from inning to inning, leading the entire game. In the top of the seventh, Drexel came firing back, adding threes runs in their desperate attempt to get back into the game. However, the Dragons came up short, losing 8-10.

Although Drexel lost, Linda Rush homered twice in back to back innings (sixth and seventh) and had five RBIs in the game. In the second game, Drexel looked like they ran out of gas from the previous one. The Dragons came out sluggish and lost by mercy rule in the fifth inning by a score of 14-3.
After this week, Drexel falls to 12-24 overall, and is last in CAA play with a 1-11 record. The Dragons look to get back on track against second to last place Towson University, who has been on a four game winning streak. They’ll head to Towson for a doubleheader on Friday, April 21 and a single game on April 22.