Softball

Drew University 4, Delaware Valley College 0 (Game 1)
Delaware Valley College 5, Drew University 2 (Game 2)

DOYLESTOWN (PA) - Standout pitching performances from Drew University's April Jacob and Delaware Valley College's Jennifer Bummer resulted in a split of Sunday's Freedom Conference doubleheader. Jacob led the Rangers to a 4-0 triumph in the opener, but Bummer rallied the Aggies to a 5-2 victory in the nightcap.

With the split, Delaware Valley moved its record to 16-8 overall and 8-2 in the Freedom Conference and puts its magic number to clinch one of the conference's four playoff berths at one with four games remaining. Head coach Rich Matarese's squad was picked to finish seventh out of eight teams in the Freedom preseason coaches' poll.

Any Aggie victory in doubleheaders against King's College (9-1 Freedom) on Tuesday or at Wilkes University (7-3 Freedom) on Wednesday will put the Aggies in the conference playoffs for the first time since 1987. Delaware Valley can also reach the postseason with one Drew (13-17, 4-6 Freedom) loss in its doubleheaders with Scranton (1-9 Freedom) on Wednesday or Wilkes on Saturday.

Bummer helped put the Aggies in this position as she allowed just two runs and three hits over seven innings in Sunday's second game. The junior walked two and fanned four while improving to 7-3 on the year.

The game was scoreless heading into the bottom of the third and Delaware Valley had managed just one hit in the first two innings off of Jacob, who also started the second game after her shutout performance in the opener. However, Jacob began to tire as Robyn Jackson drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Kim Harle then drew a walk and Jacob moved to first base as Lauren Collini came into pitch.

Collini got ahead of Lacy Miles 0-2 before Miles took an outside pitch and put it down the right field line for a single that knocked in Jackson and moved Harle to third. Brittany Stockert then singled to left to bring home Harle for a 2-0 lead. Kelly Andrews then hit a ball back to Collini, but the Ranger overthrew first for an error and Miles scored the third run of the inning. Nicole Dorney followed with an RBI single to center to plate Stockert and Bethany Pavlik's sacrifice fly to center brought home Andrews for a 5-0 lead.

It stayed 5-0 until the top of the sixth when Collini's single and Therese Postel's walk began the inning for Drew. The Rangers then hit the scoreboard as Kerry Crowley singled to right-center to bring home Collini and move Postel to third. Cailin McGrorry laid down a bunt and was thrown out, but Postel scored for a 5-2 game. After a walk to Melissa Kraft and a wild pitch, Bummer settled down and retired the final two batters. She then retired the side in the seventh to end the game.

Jacob was simply dominant in the first game as she hurled a two-hit shutout and struck out four. The lone hits for the Aggies were a bunt single by Dorney and an infield hit by Maureen Ferguson. Both of those plays came in the fourth when Delaware Valley loaded the bases with two outs. Delaware Valley pitcher Kirstyn Ruhling came to the plate and worked the count full before Jacob struck her out to end the threat.

Drew, which had loaded the bases in its half of the fourth but came away with nothing, struck for all four of its runs in the fifth. Two walks with a Crowley single sandwiched in-between loaded the bases with no outs. Postel then drew a walk to bring home a run for a 1-0 lead. Nicole Gagliardi then singled to right field that brought home two runs and a third scored with an error on the play. Jacob took care of the rest as she retired the final nine Aggie batters.