(Tucson, Ariz.) – The Webster Gorlok softball squad improved to .500 on the young season with four straights win over Kenyon 6-1, Purdue-North Central 12-7 on Sunday evening and 5-2 against Calvin and 13-8 over Monmouth on Monday afternoon at the Tucson Invitational Games in Tucson, Ariz.

    In the opener against Kenyon (2-1), the Gorloks (4-4) jumped on the board early with a three run second inning highlighted by a two run double to left center off the bat of Maria Hibbard with two outs. Webster extended its lead to 4-0 in the third with another two out double this time off the bat of Allie Park which scored Samantha Dittman. Kenyon loaded the bases in the fourth but Megan Sperry worked out of the jam allowing only one run and then WU sealed the victory with single runs in the fourth and sixth to grab the victory.

    Sperry went the distance allowing only one run on four hits while striking out five and allowed three free passes. Hibbard and Park led the Gorloks offensively with three hits apiece as Webster finished the game with 13 hits.

    In the nightcap WU took on Purdue-North Central (2-4) in a high scoring contest. The Gorloks jumped on top in the first inning on a two run homer to straight away center field off the bat off Kelsey Washam but the Panthers came right back with two in the bottom of the inning to tie the game back up. Webster regained the lead in the top of the second with a run however PNC took advantage of two Gorlok errors in the bottom of the inning scoring five times to take a 7-3 advantage. WU came storming back in the third answering with five runs of it own and retook the lead on a three run bomb off from Park to go up 8-7.
   
    After that Gina Trapani got into a groove not allowing another run over the next four innings and Webster scored four times in the sixth to put the game away. The game was called after the sixth inning due to the lights going out and could not come back on.
Trapani went the distance allowing all seven runs, two earned, on nine hits while walking four and striking out two. Six Gorloks had at least two hits in the game led by Sperry with three as they pounded out 15 hits in the win.

    In the opener on Monday Webster took on the Knights of Calvin College (1-3) and once again scored in the first inning manufacturing a run Dana Vahey led off the game with a double to left field then stole third and scored when the catcher threw the ball into left field. Calvin came right back in the bottom of the inning to tie it up at 1-1. After a scoreless second inning WU had five straight players reach base after two were down resulting in three runs with Park delivering a two run single to make it 4-1. The Knights cut into the lead with another run in the bottom of the inning but Vahey got the run back with a solo home run to left center field in the fourth to push the lead back to three.

    Sperry would hold Calvin’s bats in check the rest of the way allowing only two hits and did not let a runner get past second base to get her second straight complete game and improve her record to 2-1. She allowed only two runs on three hits with a pair of walks and three strikeouts. Vahey, Washam and Sperry each finished the game with two hits while Park had a pair of RBIs.

    In the second game on Monday Webster overcame a sloppy game to improve to .500 with a 13-8 win over Monmouth (0-2). The Gorloks scored in the first inning for the third straight game when Vahey scored from third on a throwing error by the catcher. The Fighting Scots answered back with a run in the second to tie the game but WU responded with four runs on only two hits in the third to retake the lead at 5-1. MC came right back in the bottom of the inning to tie the game back up at 5-5 with four of its own. Webster regained the lead in the fourth with a single run, but once again the Scots came back with another run to tie it back up. The Gorloks finally seized control of the game in the fifth with three runs highlighted by a two run double from Washam to regain a 9-6 lead. After holding Monmouth scoreless in the bottom of the fifth WU scored two runs in the sixth and seventh innings sandwiched around a run for MC in the bottom of the sixth. The Scots got its final run in the bottom of the seventh on a throwing error with the bases loaded for the final margin.

    Trapani picked up the victory allowing eight runs, six earned, on 11 hits while striking out 11 but walked six to improve her record to 2-1. Once again the offense was a balanced effort with six players getting at least two hits led by Sperry with three as it pounded out 15 hits in the win. Washam, Mandy VanVelkingburg, Park and Autumn Sensing each had two runs batted in for Webster.

    After a day off on Tuesday the Gorloks return to the diamond on Wednesday with a pair of games against Kenyon at 12:30 p.m. (CST) and Calvin College at 3 p.m. (CST).