Mercyhurst North East (Friday) Box Score
Chattanooga State Tech (Friday) Box Score
Coastal Georgia (Saturday) Box Score
Pitt (Saturday) Box Score
Pitt (Sunday) Box Score
Saint Mary Kansas (Sunday) Box Score
SAVANNAH, Ga.—The Harford softball team finished competition at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) Smash Hit Tournament last weekend with an 0-6 record. The Fighting Owls (0-8) are still looking for their first win of the season after facing some tough competition on their spring trip.
The Owls best game came on their last day in Savannah, when they took on the University of Saint Mary-Kansas and were edged out by the Spires, 14-10. Harford was down 8-0 going into the bottom of the fourth but got on the board thanks to an RBI single by sophomore Cara Testerman (Jarrettsville, Md./North Harford). Testerman led all Harford players with four RBI on the weekend, all of them coming against Saint Mary.
The Spires would add three more runs in the top of the fifth, but a six-run inning for Harford which saw four walks, including an RBI walk by Testerman, RBI singles by freshman Sarah Cooley (Clermont, Fla./Bel Air) and sophomore Jessica Stumpf (Baltimore, Md./Perry Hall) and a two-RBI double by freshman Sarah Morrill (Smyrna, Tenn./C. Milton Wright) put the Owls within two, 11-9.
Saint Mary would tack on another three runs in the seventh and with their last chance at bat, Harford managed just one run off a groundout RBI by freshman Kathleen Lehnert (Bel Air, Md./Bel Air) on the way to the 14-10 loss.
Harford's first game of the weekend, on Friday when they took on Mercyhurst Northeast, was the only other game that went more than five innings as the Owls played to a six-inning 10-2 loss. Harford jumped on the board first as sophomore Jocelyn Kelly (Fallston, Md./Fallston) notched a solo homer in the top of the second, but the lead would be short-lived as the Saints added three runs in the bottom of the third and then a single run in the fourth to take a 4-1 lead going into the fifth.
Harford added one more run in the fifth as sophomore Jourdan Harmon (Baltimore, Md./Catholic) scored on a Saint error, but Mercyhurst would add three more of its own in the bottom of the inning to take a 7-2 lead.
After the Harford batters were quickly retired in the seventh, the Saints led off with a walk and a two-run home run by Samantha Eimers to take a 9-2 lead, just one shy of the eight-run mercy rule. The Owls would need to hold Mercyhurst in order to continue playing, but a single, followed by a fielder's choice error put runners at first and second and a final RBI single gave the Saints the 10-2 six-inning win.
Harford managed just two runs in the other four games combined, as they fell by a score of 14-0 to NJCAA Division II No. 2 Chattanooga State to finish Friday's games, 8-0 to Coastal Georgia and 9-1 to Pitt on Saturday and 12-1 to Pitt again on Sunday.
Cooley and sophomore Cherish Deaver (Fallston, Md./Fallston) both led the Harford team with a .417 average (5-for-12) for the tournament with Deaver tallying three runs scored and Cooley batting in one run.
Cooley also made three starts and five appearances as she went 0-3 with 19 innings pitched, striking out six batters along the way.
Sophomore Katie Irwin (Edgewood, Md./Harford Tech) was the only other pitcher for the Owls, who made three starts was 0-3 with 11 innings pitched, fanning four batters in that span.
The Fighting Owls return to action on Wednesday, March 11 when they travel to Annapolis, Md. to face the jayvee squad at the Naval Academy for a doubleheader at 4:00 p.m.
