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LAKEWOOD, N.J. - Freshman Dara Schroeder (Northern Burlington H.S./Bordentown, N.J.) collected five hits and five stolen bases as Georgian Court University (21-15, 8-4) extended its win streak to four straight games by sweeping a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference doubleheader from Goldey-Beacom College (15-14, 5-5) at the GCU Softball Field on Thursday afternoon.
After posting a 12-0 verdict in five innings to win the first game, the Lions held off the Lightning in the nightcap to post an 8-4 victory.
The Lions took a quick 1-0 lead with one out in the first inning when senior infielder Rachel Ruch (Edison H.S./Edison, N.J.) hit an RBI double to left field, scoring Schroeder from second base.
In the second inning, Georgian Court broke the game open by scoring seven runs on six hits. Senior catcher Christina Masitti (Freehold Township H.S./Englishtown, N.J.) upped the Lions' edge to 2-0 with a bases loaded single to center field before Schroeder drove in a pair of runs with a single up the middle for a 4-0 advantage.
After a Goldey-Beacom error loaded the bases, Ruch increased the margin to 6-0 by hitting a two-run double to right field. Senior Brooke Hull (Nazareth Area H.S./Nazareth, Pa.) added another run on a sacrifice fly before senior Kelsey Cutler (Gloucester H.S./Gloucester City, N.J.) drove in a run with a single to left field, giving Georgian Court an 8-0 lead.
The Lions added four more runs on four hits in the fourth inning to take a commanding 12-0 lead. After Hull singled to left field to drive in Ruch from second base, junior Vanessa Flores (Wall, N.J.) extended the margin to 10-0 with an RBI single to right center field. Masitti added a run-scoring single to right field before Schroeder singled up the middle to score Flores.
Despite a double by sophomore Michelle Foster (Overbrook H.S./West Berlin, N.J.) in the top of the fifth inning, Goldey-Beacom was unable to score and the game ended after five innings due to the run rule.
In the nightcap, the Lions exploded for six runs on six hits in the first inning for a 6-0 advantage. After Ruch gave Georgian Court a 1-0 lead with a single up the middle, she scored on a double by Hull. With one out in the inning, senior Selina Santillo (Archbishop Prendergast H.S./Drexel Hill, Pa.) upped the margin to 4-0 when she hit her first home run of the season, a two-run shot to center field.
Masitti hit an RBI single to right field before Schroeder reached base on an error to score freshman Alyssa Paradiso (Hammonton H.S./Atco, N.J.), giving the Lions a 6-0 advantage.
The Lightning trimmed the deficit to 6-1 in the top of the second inning when Foster hit an RBI single to right field, extending her hitting streak to 11 games. But, the Lions answered in the bottom of the third inning when Schroeder drove in a run on a fielder's choice with one out.
The teams traded a run in the fourth inning before Goldey-Beacom narrowed the gap to 8-4 in the top of the sixth inning on a two-run double by freshman shortstop Samantha Alonzo (Roy C. Ketcham H.S./Wappinger Falls, N.Y.). However, the Lightning was unable to get any closer.
While Schroeder led the Lions offensively, Hull posted a pair of complete games and recorded her second solo shutout of the season. She struck out three Goldey-Beacom hitters while walking two.
Foster led the Lightning in a losing effort with three hits and two runs batted in while senior Cailin Cavanaugh (Newark H.S./Newark, Del.) also had three hits.
The Lightning will travel to Post University on Friday afternoon for a doubleheader that was rescheduled from March 31. The first game is slated to begin at 2 p.m. Meanwhile, Georgian Court will visit Concordia College for a CACC doubleheader on Saturday afternoon.
Lightning Strikes: With her five stolen bases against the Lightning on Thursday, Schroeder now has 34 stolen bases this year and needs just three stolen bases to tie the CACC single-season record that was set by Justine Mateo of Felician College in 2010 … She also has 16 hits in her last six games with a four-game hitting streak … Foster has now hit safely in 20 of her last 23 games after extending her hit streak to 11 straight games … It is the second time in her career that Foster has posted a hitting streak of 11 or more games … She had a 14-game hit streak last year as a freshman … Cavanaugh has a hit in four straight games … Over her last five games, Cavanaugh is hitting .467 with seven hits, including a double and a triple … Alonzo now has 25 runs batted in this season, which is the second-highest total in Goldey-Beacom history … She ranks fifth in the CACC in RBIs this year while her .393 batting average ranks ninth in the conference … The Lightning committed six errors in the second game on Thursday, tying a season high.
