After a 4-6 record in the Madeira Beach Spring Invitational in Florida, the Drexel University women’s softball team looked to bounce back in their next tournament: the Hampton Blue and White Classic in Virginia March 8-10. Here, they faced the University at Albany, Norfolk State University, Hampton University and South Carolina State University.
On the first day, they faced Albany and Norfolk. Against Albany, the Dragons struggled to score any runs. Albany got on the board with singles in the second and sixth innings. With a 2-0 loss to start the tournament, the Dragons struggled to gather traction.
However, the game against Norfolk was a totally different story. Junior Linda Rush got the Dragons on the board in the first inning with a double, which brought in sophomore Elena Woulfe. After this, the Dragons got into a rhythm. They scored three in the second inning due to a double from Woulfe, which brought in two runs until an error caused Woulfe herself to score.
The Dragons scored two more from a single by senior Jenelle Ladrido in the third inning. Norfolk tried to get some runs back with a two-run home run, but that was nothing for the Dragon offense. Drexel moved on to score from a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning, and three more runs in the fifth sealed the deal. Woulfe hit a single to score junior Taylor Kent, but the Dragons wanted more. Sophomore Emma Dryden stole home to score the ninth run of the game. With yet another single, the Dragons lifted themselves to a 10-2 win and 1-1 record in the tournament.
The next day, the Dragons got a chance to get revenge on Albany before taking on Hampton. For the Albany game, Rush hit a double and sophomore Kristi DiMeo hit a home run to bring the Dragons to a 3-0 lead. A sacrifice bunt by freshman Sarah Clinton brought the Dragons up 4-0. Albany quickly came back and got the lead at 5-4, but another DiMeo home run brought the Dragons back into the game. Albany used this as fuel as they scored a key run in the seventh to win 6-5.
In the Hampton game, the Dragons didn’t have much more luck. Two singles in the second inning brought in two runs, but unfortunately, that was not enough to defeat Hampton. With two runs in the fourth inning and three in the sixth, Hampton pulled away with the win, 5-2.
However, Drexel was able to end the tournament on a good note. Against South Carolina, the Dragons brought back the fire from the Norfolk game and cruised to a 9-1 win. With a DiMeo double and single by senior Taylor Lee, the Dragons went up 2-0. DiMeo went off again in the second inning with a bases-clearing double to bring the Dragons up 5-0. Later, DiMeo and Rush both hit two-run home runs to bring the Dragons their monstrous win.
DiMeo was named the Drexel School of Education Athlete of the Week for her contribution to the wins against Norfolk and SC State. Although the Dragons got two wins in this tournament, their record is still lackluster at 6-9. The Dragons will look to bring that up with the Maryland Invitational March 15-17.