Frosh righties, Pixley's bat key Devil sweep

Fredonia earned its first sweep of its Florida trip Monday with wins over Bethany (W. Va.) and Gallaudet.

Freshmen were in the circle for both wins. Sam Seegar (North Tonawanda) scattered nine hits -- not more than two an inning -- and struck out five as the Blue Devils downed Bethany, 2-1. Katie Yudin (Liverpool) allowed just two hits while blanking Gallaudet, 8-0. The Blue Devils improved to 8-4 -- 5-3 while in Florida.

Offensively, Fredonia had five hits in the opener -- including a double and a single by Nikki Lent (Yaphank). Lent had two more hits to join a 12-hit parade against Gallaudet. Lauren Pixley (Hamburg) also had two hits, including a two-run homer, her first of the season. Pixley also had an RBI groundout for a total of three RBI. She also had a key double in the opener.

Fredonia will put a three-game winning streak on the line against Norwich at 8 a.m. Tuesday followed by a 10:30 a.m. game vs. Manhattanville. Both games are at the Sleepy Hollow Complex in Leesburg, Fla.

In the first game Monday, Seegar and Bethany's Sam Binkley were locked in a scoreless pitcher's duel until the Blue Devils broke through with both their runs in the last of the sixth. With two outs, Pixley doubled off the leftfielder's glove. After a walk to Seeger, Head Coach Tony Ciccarello inserted Mallory Mecca (Derby) as a pinch-hitter and Maddy Stavish (Olean) as a pinch-runner for Seegar.

Mecca hit the first pitch she saw from Binkley inside the left-field line. Pixley scored from second for the game's first run and Stavish took third on a throwing error. When the Bison infielders weren't ready, Stavish darted home and slid in ahead of Binkley's throw for Fredonia's second run. It proved to be decisive.

The Bison did not go quietly -- a trend that marked the game. They had base-runners in every inning and left 11 stranded. Sammie Weiss led off the seventh with her third hit of the game. After a fielder's choice, Sarah Coss drilled an RBI double high off the fence in left. Seegar pitched around a wild pitch to return the final two batters and improve her record to 2-1.

Yudin improved to 4-1 with a nine-strikeout performance against Gallaudet. She also had two hits as did Mecca and Erin Mushtare (Oneonta). Madison Cooley (Geneva, N.Y.) collected two RBI.