PITTSBURGH, Pa. - La Roche softball took on Chatham on Sunday afternoon in a non-conference doubleheader, falling in a close game one, before bouncing back to win a weather shortened game two.
GAME ONE: Chatham 4 LRU 2
La Roche opened with early momentum but could not sustain it, falling to Chatham 4–2 in a game defined by missed opportunities and costly defensive miscues.
Chatham struck first in the opening inning, using a pair of baserunners and a timely single to take a 1–0 lead. La Roche responded immediately in the bottom half, capitalizing on pressure to even the score on a wild pitch. Moments later, Taylor Young delivered a single down the left field line to drive in another run, giving La Roche a 2–1 advantage after one inning.
The early response set a promising tone, with La Roche generating solid contact and putting runners in motion. Cassidee Fitterer added extra-base power with a triple, while Maura Wade and Ashlee Bair helped create traffic on the bases. However, despite collecting seven hits in the game, La Roche was unable to build on that initial surge.
Chatham answered in the third inning, tying the game at 2–2 with another RBI single. From there, the contest settled into a tighter rhythm, with both pitching staffs limiting damage through the middle innings. Klover Haberthier provided a steady start in the circle, working through four innings and keeping La Roche within reach.
The turning point came in the fifth. Chatham regained the lead on a single that plated a run, aided by a defensive miscue that allowed the inning to continue. The run proved significant in a game where scoring chances became increasingly limited.
La Roche continued to generate opportunities but struggled to convert. The lineup managed base hits from multiple spots, including Young's two-hit performance, but could not string together the timely hits needed to bring runners home. Five runners were left on base, and several innings ended with potential rallies halted.
In the seventh, Chatham added an insurance run when a ball in play resulted in another error, allowing a run to score unearned. That extended the lead to 4–2 and placed additional pressure on La Roche in its final at-bat.
Despite the early offensive production, La Roche was held scoreless over the final six innings. Chatham's bullpen combined to shut down any late push, retiring key hitters and limiting hard contact down the stretch.
Defensively, La Roche committed three errors, all of which played a role in Chatham's ability to generate runs. While only two of the four runs were earned, the extra opportunities proved decisive.
GAME TWO: LRU 4 Chatham 3 F/5
La Roche used a timely fourth-inning surge to erase a deficit and secure a 4–3 comeback victory over Chatham.
Chatham opened the scoring in the first inning with a sacrifice fly to take a 1–0 lead, but La Roche responded immediately. Finley Hohn delivered a single to center field to bring home a run and even the score at 1–1 by the end of the opening frame.
After a quiet second inning, Chatham regained control in the third, pushing across a run on a groundout to make it 2–1. The Cougars added another in the fourth on an RBI double, extending the lead to 3–1 and putting La Roche in a position where a response was needed.
That response came quickly and decisively in the bottom of the fourth.
La Roche capitalized on pressure and defensive miscues to shift the game. With runners on base, Maura Wade lined a single to right field, driving in two runs to tie the game at 3–3. Both runs were unearned, but they changed the momentum completely. Moments later, continued pressure forced another mistake, allowing the go-ahead run to score and giving La Roche its first lead since the opening inning at 4–3.
From that point forward, pitching and defense took over.
Taylor Young earned the win with four innings of work, limiting damage and keeping La Roche within striking distance until the offense broke through. Finley Hohn closed the game in the circle, retiring Chatham in the fifth to secure the victory.
At the plate, La Roche made the most of limited opportunities. The team recorded six hits, with Hohn collecting two and adding an RBI. Wade's two-run single proved to be the defining moment, accounting for half of the team's runs.
Defensively, La Roche played a clean game with no errors, a key contrast in a matchup where Chatham's lone error contributed to the deciding rally.