PETERSBURG, VA. – On Sunday, Pace University Softball closed out its extended road trip with a doubleheader sweep of Virginia State University. The Blue and Gold edged the Trojans 4–3 in the opener before securing a 5–2 victory in the second game behind another strong pitching performance. With the sweep, Softball improved to 7–3 overall.
Game One
Virginia State struck first in the opening inning, but the Blue and Gold answered in the second.
Bella Cardona delivered an RBI single to bring home
Kara King, tying the game at 1–1.
The Trojans regained the lead in the bottom half of the inning on an RBI triple, though Softball responded with a decisive rally in the fourth inning. Cardona ripped a two-run double to center field to score King and
Faith Scally, giving the Blue and Gold a 3–2 advantage. Moments later,
Ashley Field added a sacrifice fly to bring Cardona home and extend the lead to 4–2.
Virginia State trimmed the deficit to 4–3 in the sixth inning, but the Pace pitching staff shut the door late.
Priscilla Del Toro earned the win after allowing three runs across five innings, while
Nikki Chandler bridged the game in relief before
Alyssa Smart recorded the final three outs for the save.
Cardona led the offense with two hits and three RBIs, while
Riley Jenkins added three hits and
Kara King collected two hits in the win.
Game Two
Softball jumped on the board early in the second game when
Willa Poplawski delivered an RBI single in the first inning to score
Ashley Field. Virginia State answered with two runs in the bottom half to take a brief 2–1 lead.
The Blue and Gold responded in the second inning as Field lined a two-run single to center field, scoring
Faith Scally and
Aubrey Carroll to put Softball back in front 3–2.
Softball added insurance in the fourth inning.
Mikayla Hughes drove in a run with an RBI single before
Riley Jenkins followed with another run-scoring hit to extend the lead to 5–2.
In the circle,
Alyssa Smart delivered a complete-game performance, allowing two runs on seven hits while striking out nine batters across seven innings to secure the victory.
Softball returns to Pleasantville, N.Y., next weekend for its home opener against Saint Michael's College, beginning Northeast 10 Conference play with a noon doubleheader.
