The Drexel University softball team started off their week against Elon University April 28. However, they did not come up with a win, as Drexel dropped the entire series.
In the first game, Elon jumped to a 5-0 lead in the first inning using a fielder’s choice and a few RBI singles. The Dragons then managed to hold off Elon for the next couple innings, until they unleashed another barrage of runs, this time scoring three in the fifth inning. These runs, however, came from Drexel throwing errors and a bunt. This ended the game at 8-0.
In game two, Elon again started scoring runs in the first inning, with a triple to center, followed by an RBI single to make the score 4-0. This time, the Dragons had a response, scoring a run in the second due to a single by freshman Reilly Jo Swanson, which drove in fellow freshman Elena Woulfe.
However, this was all the runs that the Dragons would score, but that did not stop the Phoenix. They managed to score another five runs in the fourth inning to activate the run-rule, ending the game after five innings with a score of 9-1.
In the third game of the series, the Dragons had a little bit more luck scoring runs, but still ended up short. This time, it was Drexel that struck first, scoring four runs in the first inning. Freshman Kristi DiMeo hit a three-run home run, making that her 15th home run of the season, which was a new program record for the Drexel softball team. Swanson also hit a single that inning to drive in Woulfe.
Elon jumped right back into it that same inning with a three-run home run of their own, cutting Drexel’s lead to only one. Sophomore Linda Rush hit a double to get fellow sophomore Taylor Kent across the plate, giving Drexel a two-run lead. However, this did not last long, as Elon scored four runs in the bottom of that inning to get to a two-run lead of their own. With the score at 7-5, Elon used their lead to score even more runs in the next two innings. They started off with a run in the third inning, but they really flourished with the second three-run home run of game in the fourth, increasing their lead to six.
Drexel answered with two runs in the fifth off a single by Kent and a wild pitch, which plated Swanson and freshman Emma Dryden. However, Elon responded with their own runs, scoring three in the bottom of that inning.
Drexel showed a glimmer of hope when sophomore Hannah Walker hit a three run double to cut Elon’s lead to four, but the Phoenix came right back and scored three of their own, which secured their win at a whopping score of 17-10.
In their next game, Drexel faced Saint Joseph’s University May 2, where they had a little bit more luck. St. Joe’s was the first to strike, though, when a single in the first inning drove in two runs for the Hawks. Both teams were scoreless in the next inning, but in the third, the Dragons scored. Off a sacrifice fly, Rush drove in junior Jenelle Ladrido, cutting the Hawks’ lead in half. Continuing from the previous game, DiMeo hit her 16th homer of the season, this time a three-run home run to take back the lead. A single by Walker and some errors by the Hawks brought the score to 8-2, ending the game with a Drexel win.
The Dragons will now move on to host their final Colonial Athletic Association series against James Madison University May 4 and 5.