NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - March 24, 2022 – Hiram College softball bounced back from a game one defeat to split their doubleheader against the Westminster College Titans on Thursday afternoon, falling just short in game one, 6-5, before taking game two by the final score of 7-2. Hiram remains at .500 at 7-7 on the year following the doubleheader split, while Westminster moves to 9-2.
 
GAME 1: WESTMINSTER 6, HIRAM 5
Jeskari Rodriguez cruised through the first two frames, pitching a 1-2-3 first and second frame before Hiram struck first in the top of the third.
 
Larissa Baeza led off the third with a single down the left-field line and took second on Melissa Galindo's groundout to second. Fayth Kawamura's sacrifice bunt moved Baeza to third and brought Giselle Chavez to the plate, who tripled to right, bringing the game's first run home and giving the Terriers a 1-0 lead.
 
But with a trio of singles, the Titans quickly loaded the bases and responded in the bottom of the frame. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Brooke Atkins singled, bringing a pair home to give Westminster a 2-1 lead.
 
Rodriguez though, settled down and got the next three batters via a lineout, foul out and a popout to end the threat and keep Westminster's lead at just one.
 
After three scoreless frames though, Westminster added to their lead in the bottom of the fifth. Alexis Yates drew a hit-by-pitch to lead off the inning and stole second. Rodriguez then retired the next two batters before Mackenzie Latess slugged a two-run homer to left-center, making it a 4-1 Titans' lead.
 
And after the Terriers left a runner on second in the top of the sixth, Westminster added two more in the bottom of the inning on Mia Greco's RBI single and Ashley Wire's bases-loaded walk to take a 6-1 lead.
 
Down to their last three outs though, the Terriers bats finally got going again in the top of the seventh. Leah Valdez led off the frame with a double to right-center, and a batter later, Baeza walked to put two one with just one out.
 
Galindo followed Baeza's walk with a single to load the bases, and a batter later, Chavez cleared them with a three-run double, cutting the Titans' lead to 6-4. Giselle Bahena then brought Chavez home with a single, pulling the Terriers within a run, but Bahena was cut down trying to stretch her single into a double to end the threat and finish off the 6-5 victory for Westminster.
 
Rodriguez (3-3) took the loss for the Terriers, allowing six runs on eight hits over 6.0 innings pitched, while Brown (5-1) picked up the win, allowing five runs on 11 hits over 7.0 innings pitched for Westminster.
 
Chavez led the Terriers at the plate, going 4-for-4 with a double, triple, run scored and four RBI. Baeza and Valdez each added a pair of hits, with Baeza going 2-for-2 with a walk and two runs scored, while Valdez went 2-for-3 with a double and run scored.
 
GAME 2: HIRAM 7, WESTMINSTER 2
Neither side was able to get much going over the first three frames, as both Trinity Meza and Elizabeth Malczak saw just one base runner over the first two innings of play.
 
After Meza worked 1-2-3 first and second innings, the Titans put two on with nobody out in the bottom of the third, as Malczak and Sarah Eisenhuth drew a pair of walks. A sacrifice bunt moved the duo into scoring position, but Meza got Yates to ground into a fielder's choice, and then struck out Atkins swinging to get out of the inning unscathed.
 
Hiram then responded to take the lead in the top of the fourth. Leading off the frame, Perez launched a solo home run to left, her second of the year, to give the Terriers a 1-0 lead.
 
And after the Titans tied things up in the bottom of the frame on Malczak's RBI single, Hiram came right back and retook the lead in the top of the fifth.
 
With one out, Galindo legged out a single to short, and Chavez followed with an RBI double to left-center, giving the Terriers a 2-1 lead. Valdez then stroked an RBI single, scoring Chavez from second to make it a 3-1 lead. A batter later, Perez added to her RBI tally with another RBI single, scoring Valdez from second to make it a 4-1 ballgame.
 
Meza then worked around a leadoff single to hold Westminster scoreless in the fifth, before the Titans pushed a run across in the bottom of the sixth.
 
Latess led off the inning with a walk and took second on Mia Meholick's groundout before moving to third on a passed ball. Leah Pancake then brought Latess home to make it 4-2, but Meza got out of the inning without allowing another run, giving Hiram a chance to add some insurance in the top of the seventh.
 
And that's exactly what the Terriers did, taking advantage of a Titan defensive miscue to score three more and extend their lead to 7-2. Chavez led off the seventh with a single, one of seven hits for the junior on the day. A batter later, Bahena followed with a single of her own, putting two on for the Terriers with just one out.
 
Perez then reached on an error, scoring Chavez from second to make it 5-2. Abbegail Froehlich got the next batter swinging, but Viviana Macias then cleared the bases with a two-run single to make it 7-2 Hiram.
 
And in the bottom of the seventh, Emma Gurley worked a leadoff walk, and Westminster put two on with two outs, but Meza got Latess to ground out to first to finish off the inning and give the Terriers a 7-2 victory.
 
Meza (1-0) earned her first career win, allowing just two runs on six hits, striking out two over 7.0 innings pitched. Malczak (4-1) took the loss for the Titans, allowing four runs on eight hits over 4.2 innings pitched.
 
Chavez again led the Terriers at the plate with three hits, going 3-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI, while Perez notched a team-high three RBI, going 2-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored and three RBI.
 
Galindo and Valdez also each tallied two hits while Macias went 1-for-1 with two RBI.
 
With the weekend off due to a postponement, Hiram next travels to Delaware, Ohio on Saturday, April 2, opening conference play with a doubleheader against Ohio Wesleyan beginning at 1 p.m.