STEUBENVILLE, Ohio–Franciscan University women's softball team dropped the first game of a doubleheader against Chatham University 5-4 in extra innings but rallied to win the second game 7-6, their first win of the season.

Down 5-4 with two outs in the eighth inning of the first game, Lady Baron Iliana Gonzales got caught in a rundown situation while trying to steal home for the win. The loss came as a disappointment for FUS, who had just tied the game at four after playing down one run for most of the game.

"It takes a lot of mental strength and will to keep fighting to battle back through a lot of adversity," head coach James Walker said. "But they bounced back, and it was great to see that from the girls."

Despite a slow start to the second game of the evening, the Lady Barons channeled their earlier frustration to pick up the energy in the fourth inning, coming back from an early 2-0 deficit to tie the game at two.

The back-and-forth battle continued as Chatham took a 4-2 lead in the fifth, which the Lady Barons answered in the sixth with two runs of their own, tying the game at four. In the top of the seventh, however, FUS found themselves down by two runs once again.

Several game-defining moments came in the bottom of the seventh, when four of five Lady Barons made it on base. Third in the lineup, junior captain Hailey Wesselman drove freshman Cecilia Lademan home and then advanced to second off a grounder from sophomore pitcher Jordan Cunningham.

Down one run, with runners on second and third, the game came down once again to Gonzales. The sophomore blooped a hit over the second baseman and Wesselman, taking advantage of an error, rounded third for the win.

"We just told them you need to put the ball in play, force them to make plays against us, and try to eliminate striking out. And really, that's what we did," Walker said. "We have some pretty fast runners, so once we were on base, we were able to get moving."

Gonzales said the success of her teammates getting on base helped her stay focused in the crucial final moments of the second game.

"The momentum from everyone else hitting was contagious.  I just thought, 'settle down and swing like you always do,'" Gonzales said. "Last year we won, but this was definitely by far the most exciting game I've ever played."

Walker said the game demonstrated the mental strength of the young team, as well as several major improvements for the Lady Barons, not the least of which was Cunningham's pitching.

The team's sole pitcher for fifteen straight innings, Cunningham walked only four girls on the night, striking out 10 players in the first game alone.

"That's big," Walker said. "We set some goals yesterday in practice and not walking batters was one of our biggest ones. Jordan stepped up today and pitched two really, really good games."

The coach also commended the hitting of freshman Kristina Frandson, who went 4-6 on the night with three singles, a sacrifice, and also reached on an error.

Walker said that the women's success comes just in time for the start of conference play.

"It helped our confidence a little bit," Walker said. "The relief that felt from getting their first win and just seeing the excitement they had was great."

Looking forward to their first conference game on March 24 at 3 and 5 pm against Penn St.-Altoona, Walker said the team will continue to work on pitching and solidifying their bats.