MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. (2/24/17) – The University of Detroit Mercy softball team split a doubleheader on day one of the Madeira Beach Invitational, hosted by Eastern Michigan in the Sunshine State.
The Titans opened the tournament with a gritty 2-1 win over Stony Brook, before settling for the split with a 15-1 loss to Harvard.
Five Titans recorded a hit in the opener, with newcomer
Courtney Gilbert leading the way after going 1-for-3 with a RBI and stolen base.
Cheyenne Willeford picked up a hit in each game and finished the day 2-for-5 with a run and stolen base.
Freshman
Liz Murphy was strong from the circle, as was the defense behind her. The Titans turned two double plays as the rookie held the Seawolves to an unearned run over seven innings. Murphy scattered eight hits and a walk, while striking out two, in the complete game victory.
With the split, the Titans move to 3-4 on the young season. Detroit Mercy will have a pair of games on Saturday to get back in the win column.
GAME ONE: DETROIT MERCY 2 – STONY BROOK 1
The Titans jumped ahead early with a run in the home half of the first after a Willeford single and stolen base set up a RBI single by Gilbert. Detroit Mercy added another run in the bottom of the second after
Sydney Pollock slashed a pitch through the left side of the infield to score Williams.
Stony Brook would score in the top of the third to cut Detroit Mercy's lead to 2-1, but the Titans were stout defensively and freshman pitcher
Liz Murphy handled the rest.
Murphy limited the Seawolves attack to a single run for the complete game win. She recorded 1-2-3 innings in the fourth, fifth and sixth during the outing. Stony Brook was able to load the bases twice on the freshman, but a poised Murphy was up to the task. She escaped a two-out bases loaded jam in the first, as well as a no-out jam in the second.
GAME TWO: HARVARD 8 – DETROIT MERCY 1
The Crimson took control of the game early with a run in the first and capitalized on a Titan error to plate four runs in the home half of the second. The Crimson added three more in the third to take an 8-0 lead over Detroit Mercy.
The Titan bats awoke in the fourth as singles from
Jordan Manno and
Cheyenne Willeford put runners on the corners with no outs. A deep sacrifice fly from junior
Savvy Ferstle plated Manno, but the Crimson would escape the jam and leave another runner stranded in scoring position.
Harvard went back to work in the bottom of the fourth and scattered hits around the Titan defense to push six runs across. Both teams went quiet in the fifth, and the Crimson earned a 15-1 win over Detroit Mercy.
Ellie Boteler and
Skylar Fairchild made their debuts from the circle with the duo tossing the final 1.2 innings.
Manno, Willeford and Williams each picked up a hit in the defeat.
ON DECK
The Titans return to action with a pair of games on Saturday. Detroit Mercy will square off with Army at 11 a.m. and follow with Albany at 1:30 p.m.
