COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Behind stellar pitching and defense, the Ursinus softball team swept through Franklin & Marshall in a Centennial Conference doubleheader on Thursday afternoon at the Snell Softball Field.
 
 
With the sweep, the Bears improved to 13-19 overall and 5-5 in Centennial Conference action to stay in the thick of the Conference Tournament race. It was the first time since sweeping Alvernia in 2018 where the Bears did not allow a run in a doubleheader. Meanwhile, the Diplomats fell to 11-19 overall and 3-7 in Centennial play after coming off a sweep of first place Washington College on Tuesday.

 
 
 A leadoff single from junior Samantha Mallen and walk from senior Maddie Solow started things off for the Bears in the bottom of the first. Mallen stole third which advanced Solow to second, but the Bears were unable to bring either runner across. The Diplomats seemed poised to strike first in the top of the third by putting runners at second and third with one out before a rare 568 double play ended the threat. The Bears next chance to score came in the bottom of the sixth when they advanced runners to second and third base with two outs. However, a sharp pop out ended the inning. Ursinus threatened again one inning later in the same spot as the inning before, but a groundout sent the games to extra innings. With the international tiebreaker in effect to start extras, Solow made a diving catch to keep the Diplomats runner at second. An infield single advanced the runner to third before a fly out kept the game scoreless. A passed ball sent Solow as the lead runner to third and sophomore Kayla Carr walked it off a batter later with a double off the right field wall. Carr finished the game as the lone Bear with two hits. Sophomore pitcher Christa Andrusiewicz went the distance for the complete game shutout by allowing five hits and one walk while striking out one.
 
 
In game two, both teams put runners on first and second in the first inning but did not come away with any runs. The Bears broke onto the scoreboard with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third that proved to be the difference. Senior Sarah DiLello and Mallen led off the inning with singles and DiLello advanced to third on the single behind a great slide to miss the tag. Solow brought in DiLello with a groundout before Mallen came around from a wild pitch to make it 2-0. First-year pitcher Miranda McIlvaine worked around a leadoff double in the top of the fourth to keep the Diplomats off the board and stranded a pair of runners in the fifth. Mallen singled in the bottom of the fifth and Solow ripped a triple to right field to score her and make it 3-0. Sophomore pitcher Riley Coneeny relieved McIlvaine in the sixth and closed out the second shutout of the day with two innings of work. Mallen went 2-of-3 from the plate with two runs scored and a stolen base in game two while Solow went 2-of-3 with a pair of RBI's. McIlvaine pitched five shutout innings while allowing four hits and two walks plus striking out one.
 
 
The Bears return to action on Saturday, April 20th as they will host Dickinson for a senior day doubleheader starting at 1:00 p.m.