Softball Begins Season With 10-4 Triumph Over Norwich

VERO BEACH, Fla. – Penn State Brandywine collected 13 hits and took advantage of six Norwich errors as the Lions recorded a 10-4 season-opening softball victory over Norwich Sunday afternoon.

Brandywine jumped on Norwich with a pair of first-inning runs as Julia Allman (Broomall, Pa./Marple Newtown) singled with one out and came around to score on Katy Steffen's (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown) triple. Steffen crossed home following an error.

The Cadets answered with two runs during the bottom half of the frame, but Brandywine added two more runs via Norwich errors in the top of the second.

Robyn Gannon's (Lansdowne, Pa./Archbishop Prendergast) sacrifice fly made the score 5-2 after three innings and the Lions would tack on four additional runs in the sixth. Lauryn Geduldick (Barnegat, N.J./Barnegat) doubled to lead off and crossed home after Julie Foeldes (Kendall Park, N.J./South New Brunswick) reached on an error. Two batters later, Gannon doubled home two runs and Katie DeStefano (Kennett Square, Pa./Kennett) followed with a run-scoring base hit.

Cheyenne Murphy (Boothwyn, Pa./Chichester) scored following the Cadets' sixth error of the day in the seventh to cap the Lions' scoring.

Gannon knocked in three runs, while DeStefano recorded three hits. Steffen and Foeldes both tallied two hits and two runs scored, while Allman added a pair of hits and Murphy scored twice.

Danielle Spina (Thornton, Pa./Garnett Valley) fired a complete game to earn the victory for Brandywine. After allowing three runs over the first two innings, Spina settled down, scattering five hits over the final five frames.

Payton Warner led the Norwich offense with two hits, one run and one RBI, while Sarah Perry took the loss in the circle after giving up nine runs (four earned) on 13 hits in six innings.

Brandywine faces Carlow University in a doubleheader beginning at 11:00 am on Monday.