HARRISONBURG, Va. - Seniors Brandi Harkness and Cyndi Wilson and junior Kaylyn Zierke each homered and rookie Ashley Ventura picked up the victory in Saint Joseph's 8-2 win over Toledo in the operning game of the JMU Dukes Softball Invitational on Friday.
The Hawks got on the board early as Ventrua worked around a two-out hit to keep Toledo scoreless, while the SJU bats came out swinging in the bottom of the inning.
Zierke got her team going with a solo home run to center field, while Harkness followed with a solo shot of her own to make it 2-0.
Saint Joseph's (2-4) added to their lead in the bottom of the second as Wilson smacked a solo home run over the wall in left center.
Toledo cut the Hawks' lead to 3-1 with an unearned run in the top of the third, but SJU answered back in the bottom of the inning with four runs.
Raelynn Genovese tallied the first run on a passed ball, while Zierke came around to score on a double by Harkness.
Following a single by Sarah Yoos that advanced Harkness to third, the Hawks tried for a double steal as Harkness scored, but Yoos was called out at second.
Ahead 6-1, Saint Joseph's added another run as Taryn Grober would come around on a passed ball to extend the lead to six.
Harkness added an insurance run with an RBI single in the fourth that scored Genovese to extend the score to 7-1.
Senior pitcher Anna Lauterbach kept Toledo at a distance, allowing one run in the final three innings to earn a save.
In the circle, Ventura moved to 2-2, allowing one unearned run over four innings, while striking out two.
At the plate, Harkness went 3-for-3 with three runs RBIs, while Zierke was 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
Saint Joseph's begins day two of the tournament versus Toledo at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday.
