PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia University softball team was swept by visiting Concordia (N.Y.) in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. The Clippers won the opener 8-0 in five innings and then took game two 5-4 in eight.

GAME ONE
Concordia's Sarah Ross threw a complete-game one-hitter to lead the Clippers (10-5, 6-2 CACC) to the game one win.

After scoring a single run in the first inning, Concordia took advantage of two Philadelphia (4-16, 2-6 CACC) errors to score five times in the second inning. Brittany Lampert posted a two-run double, and Victoria Vickerman knocked in two runs with a single.

The Clippers plated two more runs in the fourth inning on a Carly Mertens sacrifice fly and an Alexa Lavalle two-out base hit.

Erica D'Angelo (Broomall, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) recorded Philadelphia's lone hit with a single to left field with two down in the second inning.

Vickerman posted three of Concordia's 11 hits in four at-bats.

Naomi Stas (Tuckerton, N.J./Pinelands Reg.) was the losing pitcher. She struck out three batters in four innings.

GAME TWO
Philadelphia jumped all over Concordia's Hannah Rubasky in the first inning of the nightcap to take a 3-0 lead.

The Rams opened the game with singles from D'Angelo and Stas and then had Monica Levins (Norristown, Pa./Norristown Area) get plunked by a pitch. Kasia Smith (Waddell, Ariz./Estrella Foothills) immediately cashed in on the early success with a two-run single to right center field. Stephanie Pepper (Toms River, N.J./Central Reg.) followed the Smith single with a sacrifice fly to right field to bring in Philadelphia's third run.

The score remained 3-0 until the last of the fourth when the Rams pushed a two-out run across to increase the gap to four. With runners at first and second, D'Angelo—who finished 3-for-3 for the Rams—ripped a double to left center field to bring home Mariah Hans (Barrington, N.J./Haddon Heights).

Concordia came back in the fifth to trim the Philadelphia advantage to 4-3. The Clippers scored two runs on an error and the third on a RBI groundout by Audrey Gardus.

The Clippers tied the game in the seventh on a passed ball after a leadoff triple off the bat of Lavelle.

Philadelphia had tremendous chance to win the game in the bottom of the seventh, getting its first two hitters on base. However, Concordia's Cassidy Gorgo got Stas, Levins, and Smith all to fly out to send the game to extra singles.

In the top of the eighth, Concordia put together a two-out rally with three straight singles to fill up the bases. After the three singles, Lavalle worked a four-pitch walk to force in Ross.

After a leadoff hit batter to start Philadelphia's half of the eighth, Mollie Burrell (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton Area), Hans, and Gabrielle Brown (Shillington, Pa./Governor Mifflin) all popped up to end the game.

Gorgo earned the win as she threw two scoreless innings of relief. Nicole Troisi (Norristown, Pa./Pope John Paul II) suffered the loss after allowing two runs, one earned, on four hits in two innings. Pepper—Philadelphia's starter—struck out six in six innings.

Philadelphia welcomes Holy Family to campus for a CACC doubleheader on Tuesday, March 29 at 2:30 p.m.