STEUBENVILLE, Ohio – The Franciscan University softball team lost to St. Vincent College in a home doubleheader sweep, 7-3 and 8-4.

The Lady Barons played an exciting first game but were unable to come up with enough runs for their first win of the season. Strong fielding played a key part in holding the St. Vincent Bearcats from widening their lead even more.

“I am happy with the way they played; I think they played like a team,” head coach Jen Parker said. “They are getting better at communicating with each other and knowing where the plays need to be made.”

After only letting three runs in going into the third inning, FUS began to pick up their defensive play even more. The opposing team was advised to avoid hitting towards the left due to the strong fielding from junior shortstop Becca Peters and freshman third baseman Hayley Wesselman. Senior captain Amanda Ruwart was also leading the outfield with impressive defensive plays.

“Amanda did a phenomenal job,” Parker said. “She did great in the field and great at bat. She was on today.”

Sophomore Mallori Linscomb was also a crucial player in today's doubleheader, catching for both games.

“Mallori is always really strong behind the plate and she made a lot of really tough stops for our pitcher and that helped us a lot,” Parker said. “They could have had a lot more runs if she wasn't behind the plate. We are very fortunate that she works as hard as she does.”

The third inning was quick with efficient fielding from both teams, leading into the Lady Baron's first inning of scoring in the fourth. Starting pitcher freshman Molly Clarahan hit a single, bringing in two runs for FUS. Even with consistent high-speed pitching coming from the Bearcats, Franciscan remained aggressive in the batter's box.

Although the Lady Barons' fielding was impressive and their hitting was strong, FUS let in too many runs to secure a win. The seventh inning featured a homerun from St. Vincent and Franciscan's fate was sealed with a strike out and back-to-back pop flies, ending the game.

The second game started out rocky for FUS, with more errors and less assertiveness in the batter's box, and they fell again to the St. Vincent Bearcats.

The first inning set the tone when St. Vincent brought in five runs without any scoring from FUS. After a quick second inning and strong fielding from the Lady Barons in the top of the third, Franciscan got on the board with two runs after smart baserunning and a single from Wesselman hitting her teammates home.

The Lady Barons held the Bearcats for the fourth inning, but less consistent pitching and mistakes on the field yielded three more runs for the Bearcats in the fifth inning.

“We need to minimize our mistakes,” Parker said. “That's our biggest problem. The unearned runs are what's costing us our game right now.”

Franciscan held again for the sixth inning and seventh inning, and even stepped it up to score two runs in the bottom of the seventh, but by then it was too late to close the deficit.

“They do rally, but we rallied way too late in the game,” Parker said. “They are really good about not giving up and putting forth their best effort every time they go out on the field.”

With improvement on the field and specific goals in mind, the still winless Lady Barons have much to look forward to. They will continue their play with an away doubleheader tomorrow against Penn State-Beaver at 1 and 3 p.m.