Softball posts win over Johnson State in spring break closer

SURFSIDE BEACH, S.C. – Juniata College softball closed the books on its 2012 spring break trip to Myrtle Beach with a 6-1 win over Johnson State College (Vt.), Friday morning in Surfside Beach, S.C.

The win allowed the Eagles to return home with a 5-3 overall record.

Sophomore Kelsea Decker (Waynesboro, Pa./Waynesboro) struck out 15 Johnson State batters while holding the Badgers to three hits.

Offensively, Juniata allowed one Johnson State run in the top of the first before responding with three runs in the bottom of the second. Steph Frith (Pottstown, Pa./Pottsgrove) led off with a single, and eventually scored on a wild pitch. Rachel Smith (Martinsburg, Pa.) singled home a second run, while Erin Francis (Parkton, Md./Hereford) crossed on an attempted double steal.

Juniata tacked on two more runs in the fifth on Kelsea Decker's RBI single and Frith's fielder's choice grounder later in the frame. Ali Vogatsky (Johnstown, Pa./Central Cambria) plated the Eagles' sixth run in the sixth inning, scoring Smith who got aboard with a double.

Decker recorded at least two strikeouts in six of Johnson State's seven innings at the plate while pitching the complete game three-hitter. 

In Thursday's game, Juniata dropped a 6-3 decision to Wesley College (Del.).

Juniata scored all its runs in the third on RBI singles by Vogatsky, Decker, and Frith, to take a 3-2 lead. However Wesley tacked on two runs in both the sixth and seventh innings, including a two-run home run by Ashlyn Booth in the sixth, to eke out the win.

Smith went the distance for Juniata against the Wolverines, allowing six runs on eight hits while recording five strikeouts.

Juniata returns to action on Tuesday, March 13, when the Eagles travel to Annville, Pa., to face Lebanon Valley College.  First pitch in the doubleheader is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. 

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