AKRON, Ohio – The Saint Francis softball team surrendered three big innings in suffering a doubleheader sweep, 5-2 and 13-3, in its season finale on Tuesday at Akron.
The Zips used a four-run third inning to take Game 1 by a score of 5-2, and then scored five runs in the third inning and seven in the fourth inning to take Game 2, 13-3, in five innings.
Akron took a 4-0 lead in the third inning of the first game before senior Kara Stroup (Valencia, PA /Mars) (Valencia, Pa. / Mars) slugged her sixth home run of the season, a two-run shot, to bring it to 4-2 in the fourth inning. It was the 25th homer of Stroup's career, moving her into a second-place tie on the school's all-time list.
However, the Zips added an insurance run in the sixth inning and never looked back.
Senior Nicole Waligora (Johnstown, PA /Westmont Hilltop) (Johnstown, Pa. / Westmont Hilltop) had SFU's only two hits in the game outside of Stroup's home run. Senior Laura Caldwell (Bellefonte, PA /Bellefonte) (Bellefonte, Pa. / Bellefonte) closed out her career by giving up three earned runs on eight hits while striking out four in 6.0 innings.
Senior Janelle McCoy (New Paris, PA /Chestnut Ridge) (New Paris, Pa. / Chestnut Ridge) hit a solo home run in the third inning to tie Game 2, but the Zips bounced back with five runs in the next half inning to take a 6-1 lead.
Stroup reached on an error, and later scored on an error, while freshman Katie McMellen (Kingsville, Ohio / Edgewood) had an RBI single to make it 6-3 in the fourth inning. However, Akron scored seven runs in the bottom half of the inning to secure the win in a five inning game.
The Red Flash wrapped up their season with a 21-30 record.
