Vikings Notch Walk Off Victory in Game One of Twin Bill

Jose Rodriguez '24, Staff Writer | Media & Communications

KISSIMMEE, Fla. – On day four of their spring break trip, Salem State softball took on the Avenging Angels of Meredith College before facing the Cardinals of North Central (Ill) at the Fortune Road Athletic Complex. The Vikings defeated the Avenging Angels in walk-off fashion to secure the  4-3 victory before falling to the Cardinals 4-0, bringing their record to 2-4 on the season.

Game One vs. Meredith

• The Angels would be the first on the board in the top of the fourth when an error on Salem's part would bring Avery Puryear (Rougemont, N.C.) home.
• The Angels would find the same luck in the top of the fifth to double their lead (2-0), however the Vikings had an answer in the bottom half of the inning when Isabelle Besser (Scituate, R.I.) scored on a wild pitch to make it a 2-1 game.
• The Vikings found their first lead of the game in the sixth inning after registering two hits to bring home just as many runs to take the 3-2 edge over the Angels.
•  In the top of the seventh, a double from Puryear would bring home the tying run before the Vikings' defense left two runners on base to head into the home half of the inning in a 3-3 stalemate.
• With the bases loaded after three Angels' errors, Samantha Gaona (Billerica, Mass.) came up to bat and delivered the heroics with a sacrifice fly to drive Alaina Giuliano (Malden, Mass.) home, earning the Vikings a 4-3 victory.

Game Two vs. North Central (Ill.)

• The Cardinals opened the scoring in the bottom of the fourth inning when a single up the middle brought a runner home to give North Central the 1-0 tilt.
• The Cardinals built on their lead in the sixth after three hits and one Viking error led to three runs crossing the plate, putting North Central ahead 4-0.
• Sam Schilf (Warrenville, Ill.) would strike out all three batters faced in the top of the seventh to secure the Cardinals 4-0 victory.

Noteworthy

• Emily Carter (Warwick, R.I.) notched her first win of the season in Salem's game against Meredith where she pitched seven complete innings, only giving up one earned run.
• Paige Souza (New Bedford, Mass.) recorded the Vikings only hits (2) in their game against North Central (Ill.)
• Samantha Gaona (Billerica, Mass.) has recorded at least one hit in four out of five games for the Vikings.
• The Vikings will wrap up their Spring Break trip tomorrow when they face Augsburg University at 9 a.m. followed by Roger Williams University at 11:15 a.m..