Acorn

The softball team finally earned their first sweep since March 22. The Rangers' bats proved to be too much for the New Jersey City University Gothic Knights yesterday afternoon.

The Rangers' pitchers senior captain Alison Robbins and sophomore Dayna Yorks held the visiting Knights scoreless in both games of the doubleheader. On offense, Drew's bats were hot too.

In the first game, junior Brittany Westcott blasted a solo home run in the fifth inning. After the home run, senior Deb Waz and senior captain Alison Grill reached base on errors. Sophomore Melissa Kraft took advantage and drilled a single up the middle to score 2 runs. Grill also added a RBI sacrifice fly later in the game.

Robbins held the Knights to 5 hits over seven innings of work. The Rangers won 5-0.

In the second game, a 6-0 win, Yorks pitched a two hitter with seven strikeouts. Yorks also helped her cause with an RBI single to bring home the first run of the game in the second inning. Westcott was 2-for-3 and freshman Kerry Crowley was 2-for-3 with a 2 RBI double.

The Rangers struggled earlier in the week, but proved their perseverance and determination as they bounced back from first game losses to conference opponents Delaware Valley College and University of Scranton to pull ahead and take wins in the second game.

On Sunday, the Rangers took an early lead as Grill slammed home run with one man on base. Fellow senior captain Shanna Peras contributed a single and RBI, while freshman Kerry Crowley contributed an RBI.

The Rangers scored 2 more runs in the fourth inning. The Rangers were ahead 6-0 when Scranton came to bat in the bottom of the fourth. Scranton quickly caught up, scoring 4 runs on 5 hits.

Within only 2 runs of tying the game, Scranton caught up in the sixth inning, scoring another 4 runs and inching past the Rangers for the win, 8-6.

Coming off the first game disappointing loss, the Rangers immediately took the lead in the second game, scoring 2 runs in the first inning.

In the third inning, the Rangers' bats came alive as they erupted for 8 runs on 6 hits. Seniors Deb Waz, Colleen Mahon and Peras all singled, and sophomore Melissa Kraft, junior Brittany Westcott and Grill each doubled and drove home 2 runs.

The Rangers continued their dominance in the fourth innning as freshman Nicole Gagliardi and Kraft each pounded the ball for doubles. Mahon singled and Peras followed with a double to bring 2 more runs to the plate. The Rangers defeated Scranton in five innings, 14-1.

"We took care of the pitcher early on and hit much better than in the first game," Head Coach Tammy Evans said.

One day earlier, the first game against Delaware Valley remained scoreless until the sixth inning when the Aggies combined for 4 hits and scored 6 runs, 4 of which were unearned.

The Rangers had only one more inning to make a mark, but were unable to score, allowing Delaware Valley to close the game with a win.

"They hit the ball and we didn't. We just could not keep up with the pitcher," Evans said.

Delaware Valley, still going strong after their win, scored first in the second game. The Rangers rebounded with a run in the next inning to tie the game.

Drew took the lead in the third when senior Kristen Mignoli pounded a shot over the fence for a home run. This set the team in motion to continue hitting, and they added two more runs to their score, taking the win 4-2.

The Rangers have six doubleheaders left in the regular season. The Rangers are planning to take it one step at a time and focus on each and every game, according to Evans.

With three conference doubleheaders left, Evans knows the team has to win at least half in order to qualify for the postseason. "We have some big games coming up," Evans said. "We need to play well in each one in order to keep our hopes alive and secure a place in the conference playoffs."

The Rangers are now 15-10 overall and 3-5 in conference play. They are tied for fifth place in the conference with DeSales University.

Tomorrow, the Rangers face Lycoming College at 1 p.m. at home. Lycoming is currently second in the conference with a 9-3 record. On Sunday, the Rangers host The College of New Jersey at 1 p.m.

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