CLERMONT, Florida (March 14, 2024) – The SUNY-Fredonia softball team pushed across the winning run in the top of the seventh inning here Thursday to hand Rutgers University-Camden its second 4-3 loss of the day at the PFX Spring Games.
 
Earlier in the day, the Scarlet Raptors dropped a 4-3 decision against Wisconsin Lutheran College. The double loss leaves Rutgers-Camden with a 2-6 record.
 
The Scarlet Raptors close their spring trip on Friday in Leesburg, Florida. They face St. Norbert College at 12:30 p.m. and Saint Joseph's College at 2:45 p.m.
   
The Warriors (2-7) scored three runs in the first inning and hung on to defeat the Scarlet Raptors, 4-3.
 
The Milwaukee-based school opened the game with three hits and one walk against Raptor junior starter  Lindsey Rodzon. A single by sophomore left fielder Emily Cardenas and a walk to senior shortstop Ashley Corley set the stage for RBI singles from senior third baseman Lexi Martin and junior first baseman Gwen Malecke. Freshman second baseman Sommer Krull plated Martin with a ground out.
 
Both teams scored a run in the fourth inning, with the Raptors jumping on the scoreboard after a leadoff single by sophomore second baseman Gianna Bauer, a wild pitch, and a single by junior third baseman Luci Hutchinson. Senior center fielder Alexa McNee completed the rally with an RBI single.
 
Two hits, including an RBI single by Cardenas, helped Wisconsin Lutheran get that run back in the bottom of the fourth. That run proved to be the decisive tally, as the Scarlet Raptors scored single runs in the sixth and seven innings. In the sixth inning, Hutchinson and sophomore first baseman Bella Lynch singled. Freshman pinch-runner Mia Owens stole third and scored when Lynch got into a rundown between first and second base.
 
In the seventh, with two outs, senior shortstop Meg Gray was hit by a pitch, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on a single by Bauer. The Raptors had a pair of runners on base when Wisconsin Lutheran wriggled out of the jam with a game-ending fielder's choice.
 
Bauer and Hutchinson both went 3-for-4 for the Scarlet Raptors, with Bauer adding one run and one RBI. She extended her season-opening hitting streak to seven games before it was snapped in the second game of the day.
 
Cardenas had two of the Warriors' five hits.
 
Rodzon (0-4) worked 5.2 innings, allowing five hits, three walks and four earned runs. Junior winning pitcher Melissa Tonn (1-3) worked 5.1 innings, allowing six hits, two walks and one earned run. She struck out six.
   
The Blue Devils (3-6) from Fredonia, New York, broke a 3-3 tie in the seventh inning after junior shortstop Allie Wandell led off with a triple and scored on a single by freshman pinch-hitter Jordan Kanick.
 
Fredonia had taken a 1-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI double by senior center fielder Alyssa Santiago, and the Blue Devils added unearned runs in both the fourth and fifth innings off Raptor freshman pitcher Anna Milillo. Milillo (1-1) finished with an eight-hitter, walking two, striking out one and allowing only two earned runs.
 
Trailing, 2-0, the Scarlet Raptors cut their deficit in half when sophomore left fielder Ava Maloof led off the bottom of the fourth inning with her first career home run.
 
By the time the Raptors batted in the bottom of the fifth inning, they were down by two runs again, but fought back with a pair of runs to tie the game at 3-3. Rutgers-Camden took advantage of two hits and one Fredonia error, sparked by a leadoff double from McNee. Freshman right fielder Kali Baker reached on an error, sending McNee to third. Baker stole second and advanced to third when Lynch squeezed home McNee. Freshman Alana Gannon tied up the game with her first collegiate hit, a pinch-hit RBI single.
 
Wandell and sophomore catcher Avery Hill had two hits apiece for Fredonia. Maloof went 2-for-2, including a home run, and added a sacrifice for the Scarlet Raptors. She had one run and one RBI.