Sports

Madison's Maggie Maguire Grabs Career Title For Home Runs

Editor's Note: After an already stellar season, Madison's Maggie Maguire on Sunday sent a 2-2 pitch over the lef-center field fence for her fourth home run of the spring, giving her the career title for home runs, Gettysburg College said. Here's the full report from Gettysburg's Corey Jewart: 

Three Gettysburg College softball records fell in a doubleheader with Washington College on Sunday as senior Joy Hallfors (Mt. Airy, Md./Linganore) took over as the career leader in hits and at bats, while junior Maggie Maguire (Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand) grabbed the career title for home runs.

The Bullets earned a split with the Shorewomen, rallying for five runs in the bottom of the seventh for an 8-7 win in the opener before falling 16-6 in the nightcap. Hallfors waited until her final at bat of the opening game to grab the career record from Mandy Wilson ’02.

With runners on first and second and Gettysburg (16-14, 6-4 CC) trailing 7-3 on the scoreboard, the senior looped a single into right field for her 175th career base knock. Hallfors would add a base hit in the nightcap to push her career total to 176. The senior also broke the program record for at bats and closed the day with 491.

Freshman Steph Zengel (High Bridge, N.J./North Hunterdon), who pummeled a two-run homer to left-center earlier in the game, followed Hallfors with a single up the middle to cut the deficit to 7-4. Maguire had put Gettysburg on the scoreboard in the second inning with a sky-high solo home run to center field which tied the school’s career mark. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh, the junior hit a grounder to third.

The third baseman attempted to get the runner at home, but the throw ricocheted off sophomore Melissa Tighe (Little Falls, N.J./Mt. St. Dominic Academy) as she slid into home. Hallfors raced around third to score another run to pull the Bullets within a run (7-6). Washington (20-11, 8-4 CC) was poised to get out of the inning with back-to-back fly outs. Senior Sam Bader (York, Pa./Central York) came through in the clutch, however, looping a fly to right-center just out of the reach of the center fielder.

Both Maguire and Zengel came around to score to end the game. Tighe, Zengel, and Maguire each finished 2-for-4. Zengel scored two runs and drove in three, while Maguire scored twice. Senior Taylor Snyder (Little Silver, N.J./Red Bank Regional) earned the victory after tossing three scoreless innings to end the game.
Game two was a slugfest as the two teams combined for 34 hits. Washington dropped five runs in its opening bat, but Gettysburg came right back with three runs in the home half.

The Shorewomen added to the lead with run-scoring singles by Paige Briganti and Lindsey Glascock in the third inning. Zengel cut the deficit to 7-5 as Zengel drove in a pair of runs with a single to right field in the fourth inning. Washington busted out the bats in the final two innings to score nine runs. Claire Mattox plated two with a pinch-hit double in the sixth before a seven-run seventh. Suzanne Patinella blasted a grand slam to center field to cap the Shorewomen’s offensive display. The fireworks went off one final time for Maguire in the final frame.

After fouling off a number of pitches, the junior sent a 2-2 pitch from Kristin Cooper over the left-center field fence for her fourth home run of the spring. The solo shot was Maguire’s 14th career home run, breaking a tie with Wilson and Heather Sagaities ’08 for the all-time lead. Tighe went 3-for-4 with two runs at the top of the lineup. Zengel also posted three hits and drove in two, while Maguire and sophomore Alexa Katz (Oceanside, N.Y./Oceanside) each posted a pair of hits. Briganti led a 19-hit attack with four hits for Washington. Glascock and Jaclyn Jayo each posted three hits, while Patinella drove in five runs. Gettysburg resumes play on Tuesday, April 16, with a doubleheader against Franklin & Marshall College at Bobby Jones Field beginning at 3 p.m. 


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