BELLEROSE, NY - Hitting the road for the first time this season, the Yeshiva softball team fell to York College in a double header, losing to the Cardinals by scores of 18-15 and 20-10 on Thursday, Mar. 14.
 
Offensively, the Maccabees saw production up and down the depth chart. All ten players recorded either a hit or a run, while Tova Hakakian (5R, 1H), Rachel Lincer (3R), Alexis Leibowitz (3R, 2H) and Jordyn Guritzky (3R, 1H) proved particularly potent.
 
Leibowitz also had a stellar day on the mound. Pitching complete games in both contests, the Baltimore native threw 11.2 combined innings, striking out 13 batters in the process.
 
With the losses, the Macs are now 0-4 on the season.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED - Game 1 (L, 18-15)

• The Macs got off to a hot start in the top of the first. After getting hit by a pitch and advancing to second on a wild pitch, Guritzky took full advantage of an error to come home, putting YU up 1-0, and handing the team their first lead of the season.
   
• This advantage would not last however, as eight York scores in the bottom of the inning buried Yeshiva in a seven-point hole.
   
• Down but certainly not out, the Maccabees began to claw their way back into contention, tallying two runs in the second, third and fourth innings, drawing within striking distance at 13-7.
   
• It was the top of the fifth that proved Yeshiva's truly explosive inning. Tali Schimmel, Kyran Appel, Rebecca Kalmar, Ashley Botnick, Leora Hazan and Hakakian all crossed home plate, not only erasing YU's deficit, but putting the women in blue and white back up at 14-13.
   
• Unfortunately, the Maccabee lead would not last, as five Cardinal runs in the final two innings snatched away the advantage for good. Yeshiva had a chance to tie the game in the top of the seventh, loading the bases with just one out. However, a runner leaving early as well as a groundout extinguished any hopes of a comeback, as the Macs ultimately dropped the game, 18-15.

 
MAC LEADERS

• Runs: Leibowitz (3), Lincer (3), Kalmar (2), Hakakian (2)
• RBIs: Hakakian (2), Guritzky (2), Hazan (2)
• Hits: Leibowitz (1), Kalmar (1)
• Stolen Bases: Leibowitz (2), Kalmar (1), Hakakian (1)
• Strikeouts: Leibowitz (6)

 
HOW IT HAPPENED - Game 2 (L, 20-10)

• Much like the first game, Yeshiva kicked off the second with a fiery first inning, jumping out to a 4-0 lead as Botnick, Guritzky, Appel and Hakakian all crossed home.
   
• While the Macs would be able to maintain their edge through the next two innings, holding the Cardinals to just three runs in the second, it was finally bested in the bottom of the third, as five York scores put YU down, 8-4.
   
• Demonstrating their resilience however, Yeshiva continued to push, tallying two in the fifth, and four in the sixth. However, this offensive production would prove no match for the bats of York, as the Macs were eventually downed, 20-10, in the bottom of the sixth.

 
MAC LEADERS

• Runs: Guritzky (2), Hakakian (2), Kalmar (2), Schimmel (2)
• RBIs: Botnick (2), Kalmar (1), Schimmel (1), Appel (1), Leibowitz (1), Dayan (1), Hazan (1)
• Hits: Botnick (1), Appel (1), Leibowitz (1), Guritzky (1), Hakakian (1)
• Stolen Bases: Appel (1), Leibowitz (1)
• Strikeouts: Leibowitz (7)

 
UP NEXT
Closing out the week with a chance at revenge, the Macs will host York College on Sunday, Mar. 17 at 5/7 PM.