Reading Powers Softball Past La Salle, 7-2, Hosts Penn Wednesday

Tuesday, April 16

La Salle University

3:00 p.m.

Drexel University

12-28

La Salle

13-23

Drexel

La Salle

Photo by: Ryan Samson

Reading Powers Softball Past La Salle, 7-2, Hosts Penn Wednesday

4/16/2013 5:14:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - Jenn Reading went 3-for-3 and finished a triple shy of the cycle on Tuesday afternoon as the Drexel softball team defeated La Salle, 7-2. Reading's seventh-inning home run broke what was a 1-1 stalemate as the Dragons got their first City Six victory of the season.

Shelby Taylor pitched seven strong innings for Drexel (12-28) to get the win, her fifth of the season. Taylor scattered just five hits, allowing two earned runs and striking out nine, a season high.

The Dragons took an early 1-0 lead in the third inning. Reading led off the inning with a double to the wall in center field, and moved to third base with two outs when Bianca Iamurri grounded out. Hanna Parrish followed, lining a single back up the middle to plate Reading with the game's first run.

Taylor cruised through the first five innings, allowing just a single in the third inning to the Explorer offense. In the sixth, though, a one-out walk ended up coming back to bite her as Megan Hodgson drove in Casey Lester with a big two-out single to right field.

The score tied heading to the seventh, Drexel's offene got to work. The first eight batters to come to the plate in the inning reached base, as the Dragons plated six runs and iced the game away.

Sylvia Llamas led things off with a single to center. After she was elminated on a Jess O'Hara fielder's choice, up stepped Reading, who blasted her third home run of the season to the opposite field, clearing the fence in right-center. Jill Popek followed with a single, Iamurri walked and Parrish singled to load the bases before Maggy Fermo hit a ground ball that brought Popek home and allowed Fermo to reach safely. Shelby Taylor was next, beating out an infield single as Iamurri scored and the bases remained loaded with one out.

With Maddison Timoteo at the plate, new pitcher Mary Cate Scott uncorked a wild pitch that let both Parrish and Fermo come all the way around to score the Dragons' fifth and sixth runs of the inning.

Although Kristen Travers hit a one-out solo home run in the bottom of the seventh, the Explorers could get no closer as Drexel locked up the win.

The Dragons will get right back to action on Wednesday afternoon when they host Penn at the Drexel Softball Field. First pitch for Wednesday's single game is set for 4:00 p.m.