The April 28 doubleheader was split between the two teams, with Drexel taking the second game.
In Game 1, Drexel could not escape an early 5-0 deficit, eventually falling 5-3. Senior pitcher Hillary Allen struggled, allowing eight hits and recording only seven outs before being pulled. Junior Amanda Bachmann and senior Caprice DiMirjian each picked up RBIs in the second inning. The Dragons would get an unearned run in the third, but that would be all.
Sophomore Shelby Taylor pitched four and two-thirds strong innings in relief, allowing just three baserunners to keep George Mason at five runs.
In Game 2, a 4-3 victory, Taylor would continue the fine work on the mound and limited George Mason to three runs in a complete game. That gave Taylor a total of 11.2 innings pitched for the day.
Drexel put up all of its offensive production in one inning, scoring four runs in the second. The highlight was sophomore Maddison Timoteo’s home run, her sixth of the season. It was part of a good day at the plate for her as the designated hitter; she went three-for-three. Senior Paige Collings drove in two runs as well.
Drexel lost the rubber game 13-4. Allen, Taylor and sophomore Jessica O’Hara struggled on the mound, although five Dragon errors behind them led to three unearned runs.
“It was disappointing that we weren’t able to take at least two from them,” head coach Kim Camara said. “We played hard, and I think we should have been able to do that. We played hard and never gave up even when we were down. We kept fighting back.”
Collings hit her eighth home run of the season and 28th of her career in the April 28 game. The all-time home run leader for the Dragons, she and four other seniors were playing in the final home game of their careers.
Collings, Allen, DiMirjian, Devon Metcalf and Elena Fravel were honored as the five departing seniors on the team’s Senior Day. It’s a group Camara and the rest of the team have enjoyed.
“These seniors were a really, really special class,” Camara said. “They are great people, and a lot of them have started for a few years. … They are the heart and soul of our program. It was a special day for us to honor them.”
DiMirjian appreciates the team-first attitude that each fellow senior possesses.
“[We are] talented, hardworking, and most importantly, team players,” DiMirjian said. “My class is full of selfless people, both on and off the field. To us, it isn’t about how each of us succeeds individually, but it is about how the team performs.”
The seniors and the rest of the squad will need to help the team perform May 4-5 during a do-or-die series for the Dragons. They will travel to the University of Delaware to face the Blue Hens; it will be the team’s final hope to make the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament.
The series starts with a doubleheader May 4 and ends May 5 with the season finale. The Blue Hens are tied with Drexel for fifth place in the CAA and are in the same spot as Drexel, fighting for their playoff lives.
Drexel goes into the weekend 1 1/2 games behind Towson University, which was swept last weekend by Hofstra University. The Tigers face James Madison University, the second-place team in the conference, for their final three games.
“We obviously need some help from James Madison,” Camara said.
Two games back in the win column, Drexel essentially needs to win two more games than Towson this weekend. The two teams cannot finish in a tie.
The players understand the scenario and seem confident.
“The mindset is absolutely that we need to come home with at least two victories to have a chance at the CAA Tournament,” DiMirjian said. “But more importantly than that, we know that we can come out of this weekend against Delaware with three victories.”
DiMirjian and the seniors look to avoid having this series be the last one of their careers.
“We know and we believe in our hearts that we are more than capable of winning this weekend,” DiMirjian said. “And having that belief and the passion that our team has, we are already at an advantage. If we go out and perform our best, this won’t be my last weekend playing softball as a Dragon.”