The Roadrunners' softball team may have experienced a key turning point in the young 2019 season -- and coach Steve DePasquale is hoping the trend continues throughout his club's current Florida spring break road trip. Following a dismal 0-3 start, RCGC has suddenly turned things around with three straight wins.
On Friday morning, the Runners not only swept their first two games of the Florida trip -- 8-0 over The College of DuPage (IL) and 10-7 over Suffolk (NY) -- but they showed an uncanny ability to make a comeback.
This happened in Game 2 when Suffolk erupted for four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to claim a 6-2 lead. The Runners countered with a five-run fifth to move into the lead and the two teams teams battled back and fourth, entering the final inning tied at 7-7.
Catcher Mackenzie Freas then ripped a solo home run to lead off the seventh while teammate Jackie Lesher delivered a key RBI hit later in the inning. The Runners rallied for three runs in the inning to clinch the win and even their season record at 3-3 overall.
Lesher entered the game late on the mound and hurled scoreless and hitless innings in the sixth and seventh to close out the win.
"We showed a lot of fight in never giving up," said coach DePasquale. "We battled and battled and refused to fold. It's great to see this kind of spirit early in the season. We haven't beaten DuPage and Suffolk in a couple of years, so these wins felt pretty good."
Centerfielder Kelsea Murphy also made a spectacular catch late in the Game 2 win with runners on base to snuff out a Suffolk rally.
"I wish we had videotaped Kelsea's catch -- I would love to keep watching it over and over," noted DePasquale.
In the Game 2 win, Freas, Olivia Farina and Murphy all slammed home runs.
In Game 1, the Roadrunners blanked College of DuPage by an 8-0 count. Winning pitcher Gia Cerminaro did it all, scattering seven hits and striking out three in five innings of work. At the plate she collected two doubles, three RBIs and a sacrifice fly.
Second baseman Christina Wilgus also had two hits and knocked in a pair of runs as the Runners scored three in the first and one in the second for a quick 4-0 lead.