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Devils rally past Brockport to earn split

Special to The OBSERVER

Sydney Merkley doubled in two runs and Megan Maull doubled in one as Fredonia rallied for a 8-5 win over Brockport in the second game of their SUNYAC softball doubleheader Saturday at Blue Devil Field.

It was the third hit and third RBI of the game for Merkley, and the second RBI double by Maull, as part of a Fredonia’s four-run sixth inning. Maria Caviris pitched one inning of scoreless relief to earn her first collegiate win. Katie Yudin pitched a one-two-three seventh to pick up her first save of the season.

Karli Murray had four hits in the doubleheader, two in each game, including an RBI single to plate the tying run in the sixth inning. The Blue Devils dropped the opener, 8-1. The split left them at 7-11 overall and 2-2 in the conference.

Here’s how it happened:

GAME ONE

The Golden Eagles (10-6 overall, 2-2 SUNYAC) took a 2-0 lead in the third inning off Yudin, the Game 1 losing pitcher, on back-to-back RBI doubles by Jesica Koneski and Alison Missavage.

Brockport’s other runs were via the long ball: a three-run homer by Kacie Hubbard in the fifth and a three-run homer by Aren Schwab in the seventh.

Fredonia scored its lone run in the fifth inning, a double by Maull, followed by a two-out double by Amber Piniewski.

Winning pitcher Julia Palopoli scattered six hits and struck out four.

GAME TWO

The Blue Devils put their Game 1 blahs quickly behind them with a four-run first inning. Merkley had an RBI single, Maull an RBI double, Maddy O’Heir a sacrifice fly, and Cassie Herman an RBI groundout. Murray and Eva FitzSimmons also had singles during the uprising.

Fredonia starting pitcher Sam Seegar pitched out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the top of the second. Following an error, a hit batter, and a walk, Seegar struck out the next three Golden Eagles.

Brockport broke through with four runs in the fourth, three of them unearned. The big hit was a bases-clearing, three-run double by Meghan Cullen, which tied the game at 4-4.

Alexis Ross led off the Brockport sixth with a hustle double when her short pop between home and third glanced off the glove of Herman, who dove to make the play and deflected the ball into foul territory. Cullen then drove Ross home with a single for a 5-4 Brockport lead. That ended the day for Seegar and brought Caviris into the circle. She struck out the first hitter she faced and induced the next to hit into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.

The Blue Devils scored all four runs in the sixth with two outs. Amber Piniewski and Yudin set the table with a single and a walk, respectively. Murray singled to center to tie the score 5-5. Merkley then drove a ball into the left-center gap to make it 7-5. Maull followed with a double off the fence in center.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Another sunny and mild day is predicted today when the Blue Devils entertain Geneseo for two games, the first starting at 11 a.m

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