Softball’s defense falters at Towson

Lafayette softball could not get a handle on the defensive end last weekend at the Towson Invitational, finishing with a 1-3 record at the end of a four-game stretch.

The tournament began last Friday when Lafayette (3-6) played their first game against Morgan State (2-13). The game went scoreless through the first three innings before Allison Thomas ‘16 drove in the first run. That same inning, an error allowed Melissa Robinson ‘13 to score Lafayette’s second run. The two-run lead was disrupted in the sixth inning, when Morgan State managed to get nine batters to the plate. Lafayette’s defense fell short, letting up 4 runs and the lead. Unable to get a hit in the final two innings, Lafayette was unable to get another run, losing the first game of the tournament 2-4.

Lafayette played again the next morning, losing to Brown University (2-6). Brown started the game strong, scoring all three runs in the second inning. It took Lafayette until the seventh inning to score a run. Senior Madeline Allen’s RBI-single earned the Leopards their first and only run of the game, ending their second game 1-3.

That same day, Lafayette faced Morgan State again, this time coming up with a victory.  In the second inning, Robinson scored off a double from Thomas. Leopards walked in a run in the top of the third, but matched that in the bottom of the inning with freshman Brittany Paul’s leadoff double.  Allen and Kristen Berger ‘15 both scored in the 6^th inning. Morgan state scored two runs in the seventh inning, but Leopards were able to hold on to the lead, finishing with a score of 4-3. 

“The team is looking to clean up the defense a little and most importantly get our bats going,” Thomas said. “We have a lot of good hitters on this team that will be able to dominate on offense.”

Lafayette’s final game was Sunday morning against home team Towson University (10-10-1). Towson started the game with a run in the top of the first, taking advantage of a pair of errors made by Lafayette’s defense. Very little base action occurred during the first three innings for Lafayette, but the team was able to score a run in the fourth. Kelly Lallis ‘15 scored with help from a sacrifice fly from Thomas, and sacrifice bunt from Robinson. Towson retaliated in the next inning, taking the lead after scoring off a double. Neither team managed another run, and the game ended with a Lafayette loss 1-2. 

Thomas offered rationale for the softball team's lackluster start to the season.

“The majority of our players are freshmen,” Thomas said. “These past two weekends have been about keeping up with the pace of the game and getting used to playing in new positions.”

“We are very optimistic for the rest of the season,” Allen said. “We are still trying to get in a rhythm, but we expect to get a little better each time we step out on the field.”

The Leopard’s play tomorrow in a double header at Penn starting at 1 pm.