No. 5 Seahawks Split with No. 4 Frederick

FREDERICK - No. 5 seed Cecil College softball kicked off its postseason by sharing a doubleheader with the No. 4 Frederick Cougars, forcing a must-win third game to take place this Wednesday at 4 p.m.

Game One - Cecil 6, Frederick 4

Briana Rebman homered twice, leading the Seahawks to a 6-4 victory in the opening contest.

The sophomore standout punished Frederick with two late longballs, taking the Cougars deep for a solo shot in the fifth before giving Cecil the lead with a two-run blast in the seventh. Rebman also walked twice and stole a bag.

After two scoreless frames to start the game, Amaia Smith put the Seahawks ahead with a two-RBI single. Frederick cut the lead to one in the bottom of the inning, then tied the game in the fourth on a defensive error.

Rebman's solo bomb put Cecil up 3-2, but an RBI single and RBI double in the fifth from Frederick's bats put the home team ahead 4-3.

Neither team scored in the sixth, leaving the Seahawks with just three outs to work with. Katarina Kuchera led the inning off and took first after being hit by a pitch. A fielder's choice, followed by a single from Gianna Dougherty, planted runners in scoring position with one out. Sloane Tanner stepped to the plate and tied the contest on a sacrifice fly. This paved the way for Rebman to hit her second homer of the game and gave Cecil a 6-4 lead.

Dougerty (12-5) returned for the seventh and shut down the Cougars in order to give the Seahawks their first playoff victory since 2018. The freshman ace finished with 11 strikeouts for the game, including two K's to Frederick's last pair of batters.

Game Two - Frederick 6, Cecil 5

It would take an extra inning, but the Cougars walked away with a share of Saturday's doubleheader and force a game three.

A two-out, base-clearing double in extras ruined the Seahawks chance at a sweep. Frederick quickly picked up two outs to start the frame, but two straight singles loaded the bases. Cougar outfielder Leo Cline would be the hero for the home team, doubling to bring home two and win the game.

Layla Hopkins led the Seahawks with three RBI. The freshman outfielder scored two on a single to tie it in the third, then knotted it up again in the fifth with a sac fly.

Backing up Hopkins were Sloane Tanner (two hits) and Amaia Smith (two hits, one RBI). Briana Rebman and Tristan Canavan ended the day with one double each.

Amaia Smith took the loss from the circle.