ANNVILLE, Pa. - Senior Tiffany Kahl went 5-for-6 with three runs and an RBI while sophomore Kate Finnen went 4-for-8 with three RBIs as the Stevenson softball team swept Lebanon Valley, 3-2 and 6-4, Saturday afternoon at LVC Softball Complex.
The Mustangs (7-13, 4-2 MAC Commonwealth), who entered the day with just one win in seven all-time meetings versus the three-time defending conference champions, combined for 20 hits in the two games, including 11 in the second.
A leadoff single by sophomore Sabrina Gordon followed by a sacrifice bunt by Kahl put the visitors in scoring position with just one out in the opening inning. Finnen hit her sixth double of the season to give the Mustangs an early 1-0 lead.
Stevenson recorded two early outs in the bottom of the inning as the Dutchmen (11-7, 5-3 MAC Commonwealth) tried to bunt for base hits with the first two batters. After a walk and single up the middle, Kelli Valle hit an RBI single to centerfield to knot the game at 1-1.
The hosts would build a one-run lead in the second inning as Haley Christensen came around to score after a leadoff double.
With runners on first and second and two outs in the fourth inning, senior Laura Welch singled to centerfield but freshman Erin Stephey was thrown out at the plate on a throw from the centerfielder. The Mustangs did go on to tie the game at 2-2 in the next inning on a two-out RBI single by senior Molly Hoyt.
Lebanon Valley was looking to respond in the bottom of the inning but Kahl threw the go-ahead run out at the plate after a single to centerfield.
Welch drew a leadoff walk in the top of the seventh inning followed by back-to-back sacrifice bunts by Gordon and Kahl to advance sophomore pinch runner Alli Culp to third. Finnen made it count with an RBI single to right field as Stevenson reclaimed the lead.
After Brooke Steinbach hit the first batter of the bottom of the inning and a sacrifice bunt to advance the runner to second, the sophomore got the next two batters to ground out and fly out to seal the victory.
Steinbach earned her second complete game victory after scattering seven hits and striking out one. Finnen finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs while Welch went 2-for-2. Kahl was 1-for-2 with two sacrifices and one run.
The Mustangs took another early 1-0 lead in game two as Kahl scored from third on a wild pitch after hitting her second triple of the season. It was the 22nd extra-base hit of Kahl's career.
In the bottom of the second inning, the Dutchmen got two runners on with two-outs, including a double by Valle, but sophomore Jasmyn Ogletree recorded one of her five strikeouts of the game to end the inning.
After Kahl bunted for a base hit for the fifth time this season and stole for the sixth, she advanced to third on a wild pitch before coming around to score an unearned run as Hoyt reached on a two-out error by the shortstop.
Lebanon Valley got on the board in the third inning as Elaine Gross hit a leadoff triple before Sammy Bost singled her home. With Bost on third and no outs, Ogletree retired the next three batters to get out of the inning.
With the bases loaded and one out in the fourth inning, the Mustangs scored two unearned runs on back-to-back RBI singles by Gordon and Kahl. The visitors added a run in the fifth inning on an RBI double by junior Naomi Fields and one in the sixth on an RBI single by Finnen to build a 6-1 lead.
The Dutchmen got back within two runs as they scored three unearned runs in the inning, including two on an error. Ogletree got the next batter to ground out for the second out before Hoyt came in for relief. Hoyt allowed the inherited runner on third to score before recording the third out.
Hoyt earned her second save of the season after retiring the side in order in the bottom of the seventh, including striking out the final batter.
Kahl went a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate while Finnen and Fields each finished with two hits.
Stevenson returns to action on Thursday, April 7 when the Mustangs travel to Alvernia for a MAC Commonwealth doubleheader beginning at 3:30 p.m.
