Vikings lose heartbreaker to Washington and Jefferson

CLERMONT, Fla. — Washington and Jefferson College scored a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to beat the Lawrence University softball team 6-5 in a nonconference game on Saturday.

The Presidents (3-3) used two errors to put the winning run on base and then got a run-scoring double to tie the game at 5-5. Washington and Jefferson followed with a bloop single to score the winning run against reliever Shannon Murray.

Lawrence (2-2) had grabbed a 5-4 lead with a pair of runs in the top half of the seventh. Cathy Kaye led off with a walk and Murray reached on a one-out error. Katie Schumacher then doubled to score Kaye and tie the game at 4-4. Anna Wawiorka followed with another double to score Murray and put the Vikings up 5-4.

Murray paced Lawrence’s nine-hit attack by going 2-for-3 with a double, triple and two runs batted in. Wawiorka went 2-for-4 with a double and drove in a run.

Kara Vance made the start for Lawrence and left with a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth. The Presidents scored twice in the bottom of the fifth to take a 4-3 lead.

Lawrence returns to action on Monday when it faces Bethany (W.V.) College and SUNY-Geneseo.