Video - Sledge's Three-Run Home Run
Box Score - Game One
Box Score - Game Two
ERIE, Pa. - The Gannon softball team finished in the losing end of a battle for first place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division as California (Pa.) swept both ends of a doubleheader Thursday afternoon at Gannon University Field. The Lady Knights lost by scores of 7-0 and 10-4.
The stellar pitching of Hope Spancake doomed the Lady Knights in the first game as the sophomore tossed a one-hit gem against Gannon. The Lady Knights' lone hit came off the bat of
Ashley Petrone (Uniontown, Pa. / Albert Gallatin) in the fourth inning. Spancake faced just four batters over the minimum, issuing two walks and hitting one batter. She struck out five.
Megan Dragon (Ashtabula, Ohio / Edgewood) took the loss after tossing five innings and striking out six. The junior allowed three runs on six hits during the outing.
In the nightcap, the Gannon offense was shutout until the fifth inning when the Lady Knights broke through adding three runs. With the Vulcans holding a 5-0 lead,
Jaleesa Sledge's (Olean, N.Y. / Olean) three-run home run
(click here to watch) cut the lead to two.
Sarah Rinks (Fenton, Mich. / Fenton Lake) and
Kelly Trace (Columbus, Ohio / Bishop Hartley) started the rally for Gannon with back-to-back pinch-hit singles. After a pair of ground outs, Sledge stepped to the plate and blasted the first pitch of the at bat over the fence in right center.
However, the Vulcans' offense didn't let up, scoring one in the sixth inning and four in the seventh to run away from the Lady Knights. Sledge drove in Gannon's only other run with a single to left field in the seventh.
Jess Rectenwald (Pittsburgh, Pa. / North Hills) suffered her first loss on the mound after tossing four innings. The Vulcans scored four runs on six hits off the freshman.
Sledge finished 2-for-4, driving in all of Gannon's runs. Trace was 2-for-2 at the plate after entering the game in the fifth inning.
The Lady Knights fell to 23-12 overall with a 6-4 record in the PSAC West. California (Pa.) moved to 28-6 this season and 8-2 in league action. Gannon will travel to Point Park tomorrow for a non-conference doubleheader that starts at 3 p.m.
