LAKEWOOD, N.J.- Pace picked up two road wins versus Georgian Court University yesterday afternoon. Game 1 went Pace’s way with a final score of 8-3. A more dominant performance came in game 2, a 10-2 victory.
Pace was on the board first in Game 1. Sophie Valle got an RBI single to bring Willa Poplwaski home. Georgian Court tied it with an RBI double in the bottom of the third. The Setters answered in the top of the fourth with 4 runs. A sac fly brought in one run. Kaylee Matsuda hit a double to bring in two runs to make it 4-1. She got home on a wild Georgian Court hit, pushing the lead to 4 runs, 5-1. Valle got another RBI in the top of the 5th, this time with two outs. Georgian Court meanwhile, continuously left runners on base. The Lions stranded two in the bottom of the fourth and one in the bottom of the fifth. The lack of RBIs would hurt the home team in the end. The Lions left eight total runners on board.
Ace Giselle Garcia picked up the win. She went 6 innings, striking out 10 and giving up 2 runs over 6 hits. Priscilla Del Toro picked up the save, pitching the 7th.
The Setters’ offense did not stop with the break between games. Brianna Shea’s RBI single brought home two runs in the top of the 1st. After a scoreless 2nd, Riley Jenkins’s single put two more runs on the board in the top of the third creating an early 4-0 lead. Georgian Court meanwhile continued to leave runners on base. The Lions got 4 hits, one each inning, but no one returned to home plate. The Setters meanwhile pushed the lead up one more run when a fielding error to first base allowed Matsuda to get home. A sac fly to right got the Lions on the board in the bottom of the 4th.
Matsuda’s base running got her home again in the top of the 6th to make it 6-1. However, the knockout blow was a three-run homerun by Raelle Gorman. It put the game out of reach for the Lions in the top of the 7th, firmly ending any comeback chance.
Pitcher Anna Acevedo remains perfect for the year, earning her third winning decision. In a complete game, she struck out four and allowed just 2 hits, while walking none.
Pace Softball’s record improves to 7-3. The Setters finally play on their home diamond tomorrow, March 21. The visiting team from across the Governor Mario Cuomo Bridge is the Dominican University of New York Chargers. Watch live either at Pace Softball Field or online at ne10now.tv. The first pitch is at 2:30 for Game 1 of the doubleheader. Game 2’s first pitch is projected for 4:30