ERIE, Pennsylvania – March 17, 2024 – A thrilling, extra-inning victory capped off a four-game weekend for the Terriers, as they bounced back from a 6-1 loss in Game 1 with a 4-3 victory in Game 2 of a doubleheader against Penn State Behrend on Sunday afternoon.
Hiram hit a game-tying sacrifice fly in the seventh inning before a pair of RBI singles in the eighth inning provided just the right amount of offense to beat a Penn State Behrend team that had won the first two meetings between the teams this season.
Game 1 Recap
The Terriers played their way into multiple valuable scoring opportunities in the first game;
Abriana Schwartz doubled in the first inning,
Fayth Kawamura doubled in the third inning and Schwartz doubled again to lead off the sixth inning. Although Hiram didn't score during that span, the team still tied its opposition in extra-base hits for the game (3-3).
Penn State Behrend scored three runs in both the second and fourth innings to take command of the contest.
Larissa Baeza hit an RBI groundout in the seventh, but the late charge fell short to earn the hosts the win.
Game 2 Recap
Hiram regained its momentum to close out the day, as it outhit the Lions (9-5) and played a clean game defensively.
Angel Santellan started the game and pitched into the eighth inning for the third time in her career (also vs Mount Union in 2022 and at Wooster in 2021), while also delivering a pair of critical RBI singles at the plate.
Santellan tied the game at 1-1 in the fourth inning, as she singled to center field to knock in
Hannah Heath. Penn State Behrend scored on a sacrifice fly in the sixth frame to take a 2-1 lead, which marked the last of the earned runs charged to Santellan.
The magic started in the seventh inning, when
Viviana Macias lifted a sacrifice fly to score
Danielle Robles, who started the inning with a double down the left-field line. The Lions would escape the frame, but Santellan returned to the circle and set down her opposition in order to send the game into extra innings.
With a runner automatically placed on second base to start the eighth inning, Hiram did its damage on RBI singles by
Darian Kanno and Santellan to take a 4-2 lead. Kanno had her second three-hit game of the campaign, while Santellan had her second multi-RBI game of 2024.
Trinity Meza would enter the circle in relief in the eighth inning, as she allowed a single before inducing a pair of flyouts to leave the tying run at second base.
What's Next
Hiram will make its long-awaited return to Myrtis E. Herndon Field on Tuesday, when it hosts Muskingum for a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m.
