Posted: Mar 22, 2009
SALEM, Va. --- Roanoke softball split in doubleheaders against Virginia Wesleyan and Randolph-Macon this weekend in ODAC action. The Maroons are now 13-5 overall, 3-3 in the ODAC and is now 21-1 against the Yellow Jackets, 22-17 against the Marlins.
The Maroons dropped the first game, 5-3 against Virginia Wesleyan at the Salem Civic Center Field. Clarissa Norwich (4-2) pitched 4.2 innings allowing four hits and striking out one. Sarah Caudle went 2-for-2 with a run while Lisa Scruggs was 2-for-3 with an RBI double and a run.
Roanoke scored three runs in the first two innings and held the lead until the fifth inning when the Marlins scored three runs to take a 4-3 lead. The Marlins added an insurance run in the seventh to win their second-straight game against the Maroons.
In game two, Roanoke's bats came alive and the defense was stifling in the 8-0 victory. Gretchen Wolfe (5-1) struck out three and allowed only three hits. It was her third shutout of the season and is tied for seventh all-time with five career shutouts. She is also eighth all-time in career strikeouts with 101.
Scruggs led Roanoke going 3-for-3 with a double and a run. Felice Lowery was 3-for-4 with a home run, three RBI and two runs scored. Norwich added two singles, a run and a RBI. Christina Ramos, Taylor Zahn and Janie Holmes came up big in pinch-hitting situations as the Maroons scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth to end the game early. Ramos and Holmes had RBI doubles while Zahn added a single.
In the first game of the doubleheader against Randolph-Macon, Ashley Crouch hit a home run to lift the Yellow Jackets to a 3-2 win. It was the first win for R-MC against Roanoke. Paige Smith went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored.
Lowery, Beth Nicoll and Holmes had the three hits for the Maroons. Kelsey Ruitenberg struck out eight batters in four innings of work. Wolfe struck out four batters in the final three innings in the losing effort.
The Maroons bounced back once again to take game two, 6-4 against the Yellow Jackets. Roanoke had 12 hits in the win, which was the highest of the weekend. Lowery, Norwich, Ruitenberg and Abbey Greenberg had two hits in the win. Ruitenberg's two-RBI double in the fifth-inning gave the Maroons a 6-3 lead and held on for their 13th win of the season.
Norwich bounced back to win her fourth game of the season. She struck out eight batters in four innings and allowed only two runs in the win. In doubleheaders this season, the Maroons are 5-0 in game two of doubleheaders, winning by a combined score of 31-8.
For the weekend, Scruggs led the team going 5-for-6 with two doubles along with two runs. Lowery had a team-high seven hits, four runs and four RBI including a home run. On the mound, Ruitenberg pitched 6.1 innings with 11 strikeouts and a 1.42 ERA.
The women will travel to Harrisonburg, Va. to take on Bridgewater this Wednesday, March 25 in an ODAC doubleheader. The Maroons are 32-14 all-time against the Eagles and have dropped four of the last five games.
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