Softball Beats Howard, 9-0, Falls to St. Joseph’s, 7-5, on Opening Day

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senior Cat Seitz hit her first home run of the season and the eighth of her career as Brown University softball beat Howard University, 9-0, and fell to Saint Joseph's University, 7-5, on Opening Day at the District Classic on Saturday at the Washington Nationals Youth Academy.

Playin in their first games of the season, the Bears (1-1) topped the Bison (3-13) in five innings and held a 5-0 lead in their season opener before falling to the Hawks (5-1).

"Today was a solid start to our 2019 season," Brown head coach Kate Refsnyder said. "We had a chance to win our first game against St. Joseph's and then bounced back well to beat Howard in game two. We had a lot of different contributors today and will look to pick up where we left off tomorrow."
 
Seitz (Poway, Calif.) went 3-for-7 on the day with four runs, two doubles, two RBIs, and her home run. Sophomore Madi Cranford (Escondido, Calif.) went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs between the two games. Junior Emily Waters (Northridge, Calif.) threw a complete-game shutout in the win over Howard.

Game 1: St. Joseph's 7, Brown 5


Senior Ashli Lotz and sophomore Madi Cranford each registered two hits, and sophomore Karina Chavarria posted two RBIs, but Brown fell to St. Joseph's, 7-5, in its season opener on Saturday morning at the District Classic.

The Bears held a 5-0 lead after the top of the fourth inning, but the Hawks rallied for seven runs over the final three frames, including five runs in the last of the fourth.

Lotz (Austin, Texas) and Cranford (Escondido, Calif.) each went 2-for-3 while Chavarria (San Bruno, Calif.) notched two RBIs in the first. Seniors Cat Seitz (Poway, Calif.) and Annie Scarangella (Tucson, Ariz.) and junior Kaitlin Okimoto (Burbank, Calif.) each hit a double with Seitz also scoring two runs.

The Bears struck for three runs in the top of the first. Okimoto led off the inning with a double before senior Sofia Venegas (La Mirada, Calif.) followed with a single. Okimoto then scored on a throwing error before Seitz doubled and Chavarria plated two runs with a groundout.

Brown went up 4-0 in the top of the third as Seitz walked and then came home on a double from Scarangella. The Bears extended their lead to 5-0 in the top of the fifth as sophomore Anya Schmitz (Santa Barbara, Calif.) brought home a run with a groundout.

St. Joseph's scored once in the bottom of the fourth as a single from Taryn Grober brought the Hawks within 4-1. SJU added five runs in the last of the fifth, pulling ahead 6-5. As part of the inning, Molly Kapala hit a three-run triple, and Grober tallied a two-run double. The Hawks tacked on an additional run in the bottom of the sixth.

Sophomore Grace Ladd (Boulder, Colo.) went 4.1 innings in the start, allowing five runs on eight hits with three strikeouts. Junior Emily Waters (Northridge, Calif.) threw 1.2 innings in relief in the loss (0-1).

For St. Joseph's, Sarah Ostaszewski went 3-for-4 while Kapala and Grober each tallied three RBIs. Ashley Ventura earned the win, throwing 2.0 innings in relief.

Game 2: Brown 9, Howard 0 (5 Innings)

Senior Cat Seitz hit her first home run of the season and the eighth of her career as Brown beat Howard in five innings, 9-0, on Saturday afternoon in its second game of the day.

The Bears scored three runs in the first inning, two runs in the second, and four runs in the third en route to their victory over the Bison.

Seitz (Poway, Calif.) finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs, two runs, a double, and her home run. Freshman Elayna Tsiouplis (Langhorne, Pa.) tallied three RBIs, and sophomore Madi Cranford (Escondido, Calif.) posted two RBIs and a double. Sophomore Karina Chavarria (San Bruno, Calif.) and senior Sofia Venegas (La Mirada, Calif.) each scored two runs.

Junior Emily Waters (Northridge, Calif.) earned the shutout win (1-1), tossing a complete-game 5.0 innings and giving up just five hits with two strikeouts.

The Bears jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first as Seitz lifted a solo shot to left field, and Cranford followed with a two-run double to left field. Brown tacked on two more runs in the top of the second behind a two-run single to left field from Tsiouplis, moving ahead 5-0.

Brown took a 9-0 lead in the top of the third with four more runs. After Cranford scored on a passed ball, Venegas and Seitz each hit RBI singles to center field. Tsiouplis closed the scoring with an RBI groundout.

Howard's Mackenzie Steele threw 2.1 innings in the loss, giving up nine runs on six hits.

Recap, photo courtesy of Brown