KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Webster University Softball opened its Spring Break trip to Florida here Friday by posting two wins in the Diamond 9 Spring Games at the Osceola County Softball Complex and improving its record to 3-3 on the season.
 
The Gorloks opened the event with a 15-3 win over Bluffton that was called after five innings due to the mercy rule and then earned a 5-4 win in eight innings over Thiel College in the nightcap.
 
In the win over Thiel, Webster rallied from a three-run deficit to take a 4-3 lead going to the seventh, but Thiel would score a run in the top of the seventh to tie the game and force extra innings. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Gorloks won the game on a one-out, bases loaded single by freshman rightfielder Amanda Kraus (Valley Park, Mo./Valley Park).
 
The biggest highlights of Friday's opener against Bluffton (2-8) were a lead off homer in the second inning by senior pitcher Morgan Mansur (Decatur, Ill./Lincoln Land CC) and a grand slam by senior catcher Terri Dearth (Lemont, Ill./Southwestern Illinois). The homer was Mansur, who was named this week's St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week, was her first-ever in her entire softball playing career, while Dearth's homer was her first collegiate grand slam.
 
For the day, the Gorloks offense pounded 24 hits, including a season high 14 hits against Bluffton and the 15 scored against Bluffton were the most in single game since scoring 20 against Principia in 2015.
 
In Friday's opener, Webster jumped in front 2-0 in the opening inning on a 2-run single by senior first baseman Katlyn Garza (O'Fallon, Mo./Ft. Zumwalt North) off of Bluffton starter Alexis Montemarano.
 
The Gorloks lead grew to 8-0 in the second inning as they sent 10 batters the plate and recorded six hits and took advantage of a Beavers errors to plate six runs. The inning opened with Mansur's homer over the fence in right field. Three batters later, Dearth hit a 2-run double to right center to make the score 5-0. Dearth would eventually score WU's sixth run on a wild pitch and following the wild pitch, senior second baseman Tessa Johanning (Sullivan, Mo./Sullivan) added an RBI single for WU's seventh run and freshman leftfielder Skiela Martinez (Whittier, Calif./California) completed the scoring with her RBI ground out.
 
Bluffton broke up Mansur's bid for a shutout in the third inning as they collected four hits and scored three runs in the frame to drop Webster's lead to 8-3. The big hit in the inning for the Beavers was a 2-run double by Courtney Jasinski. Mansur had opened the game retiring eight of the first nine hitters she faced.
 
Webster put the game out of reach in the fourth inning as they recorded four hits and took advantage of a Bluffton error to score seven runs to push its lead to 15-3. In the inning, WU sent 10 batters to the plate as Garza got the scoring started on an RBI single up the middle. The next run came in on fielding error by Bluffton shortstop Riley Langstaff and the third run came home when sophomore shortstop Taylor White (St. Charles, Mo./Lutheran St. Charles) drew a bases loaded walk. Dearth would then follow with her grand slam over the fence in right center to give the Gorloks an 11-run advantage.
 
The Beavers had a scoring chance in the sixth inning off of Mansur as they put runners on first and second with no outs, before Mansur would strike out two of the final three batters and get the other hitter to hit an infield pop to leave those two runners stranded.
 
In the bottom of the fifth, senior Chelsea Thornley (Clinton, Mo./Clinton) relieved Mansur and would walk the second hitter she faced, but leave that runner left on first as she retired the final two hitters on ground outs to seal Webster's run-ruled win.
 
Mansur (2-1) threw four innings and scattered seven hits and allowed three runs, while striking out three and walking none. In 17 innings of work this season, Mansur has yet to walk a batter as she has recorded six strikeouts and no walks.
 
Johanning and Garza each had three hits in the opener, while Dearth and junior third baseman Brienna Sheperd (Central Point, Ore./College of the Redwoods) each had two hits. In fact, all nine Gorloks that started the game had at least one hit.
 
Montemarano (0-1) took the loss in the circle for the Beavers as she pitched 1.1 innings and allowed six hits and six runs (six earned), while walking one and striking out none.
 
Kelsey Reeder had two of Bluffton's seven hits in the loss.
 
Meanwhile, in the nightcap, Thiel (2-8) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third inning as they used two hits and two Gorlok errors to score their runs. The big hit in the inning for the Tomcats was a 2-run triple to right by Bailey Hoover off of Webster sophomore pitcher Kaitlyn Johnson (East Alton, Ill./Greenville University).
 
From that point, neither team would find the scoreboard until the bottom of the sixth inning as Webster's first two hitters drew walks and those two would eventually score on a pinch hit single up the middle off the bat of Mansur. Sheperd would follow Mansur's hit with an RBI single of her own to tie the game and the Gorloks would then score its fourth run of the inning when junior catcher Casey Cullinane (Simi Valley, Calif./College of the Redwoods) reached on a fielding error by Tomcats shortstop A.J. Corradi.  
 
Thiel, though, would respond in the top of the seventh as a double and back-to-back walks issued by Thornley, who relieved Johnson to start the inning, loaded the bases with one out. The second walk issued to pinch hitter Vanessa Falce chased Thornley from the game and brought Johnson back to the circle. The first batter Johnson would face, Katlyn Pennell, would reach when Martinez dropped a fly ball in the left field for an error that allowed the Tomcats to score an unearned run and tie the game.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, sophomore centerfielder Abby Burroughs (Edwardsville, Ill./Triad) and Johanning reach on back-to-back two out singles, before Thiel's Shannon Baker kept the game tied as she forced Garza to fly out to center to end the inning and force extra innings.
 
The eighth inning began with putting a runner on second base due to the international tie breaker rule and the Tomcats put that runner on third on ground out to start the inning, but she was left at third as Johnson would retire the final two Thiel hitters on ground outs.
 
In the bottom of the eighth, Garza was put on second base as she made the final out in the seventh. Garza would move to third thanks to back-to-back singles by Sheperd and Cullinane and would score the game winning run on Kraus single to center.
 
Sheperd and Cullinane each had two of Webster's 10 hits in Friday's second game.
 
Johnson (1-0) earned the win in the circle as she tossed 7.2 innings and allowed four hits and three runs (one earned run), while walking one and fanning three.
 
The Gorloks defense struggled against Thiel as they committed five for the game that led to three unearned runs. On the season, the Gorloks have allowed a total of 32 runs, including allowing 15 unearned runs as they have committed 16 errors on the year.
 
Thiel, who had five hits in the loss, got two of those hits from Jessica Kelley.
 
Baker (1-3) pitched the entire game for the Tomcats as she allowed 10 hits and five runs (four earned), while walking four and striking out six.
 
Webster will continue play in the Diamond 9 Sunkissed Games on Saturday, March 10 as they face Alfred University at 11:15 a.m. EDT and then will conclude the second day against 23rd-ranked Kean University at 1:30 p.m. EDT.