GROVE CITY, Pa. -- The Grove City College softball team opened the 2021 season Tuesday afternoon by splitting a home doubleheader with Waynesburg at College Field. Grove City won the opener 4-1 and then dropped Game Two, 8-6.

In the opener, senior pitcher Ashley Cornelius (Youngstown, Ohio/Boardman) earned the win after scattering seven hits over seven innings. She struck out five batters in her complete game effort. 

Cornelius and senior first baseman Haley Dietz (Allison Park, Pa//Hampton) each went 2 for 4 to help pace Grove City's offensive attack. Junior second baseman Cara Polese (San Diego, Calif./Canyon Crest) also added a pair of hits in Game One.

Senior DP Hannah Dietz (Allison Park, Pa./Hampton) and Haley Dietz both singled in the bottom of the third and then came home on an error. 

Waynesburg cut the lead to 2-1 in the top of the fourth but the Wolverines answered with a pair of runs in the home half of the inning. Haley Dietz singled in Polese with the first run of the winning. Cornelius later scored on a wild pitch. 

Waynesburg brought the tying run to the plate in the top of the seventh but Cornelius worked out of the jam for the victory.

The Wolverines jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning of the nightcap as sophomore pitcher Janessa Dawson (Zanesville, Ohio/Tri-Valley) cracked a three-run double that scored Polese, Hannah Dietz and junior shortstop Lexi Buck (Akron, Ohio/Lake Center Christian). The lead grew to 4-0 in the second inning as junior center fielder Morgan Prouty (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) singled home freshman right fielder Lauren McNeil (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio/Cuyahoga Valley Christian).

In the fourth inning, Hannah Dietz doubled in Prouty, pushing the lead to 5-1. Dawson scored Grove City's sixth run of the game in fifth inning when she came in on a single by freshman third baseman Maralee Caldana (Milesburg, Pa./Bald Eagle). 

Waynesburg cut the lead to 6-4 in the sixth inning, then took the lead with a four-run outburst in the top of the seventh.

Prouty doubled as part of a 3-for-4 effort. Polese went 2 for 2. Hannah Dietz and Dawson also had two hits each. 

Dawson struck out four in 5 1/3 innings. She allowed four runs, two earned. Freshman Kaitlyn Constantino (Clarion, Pa./Clarion) allowed four runs in one inning and took the defeat. Sophomore Mariah Francis (Randolph, Ohio/Waterloo) recorded the final two outs in relief. 

Grove City will host Geneva at 1 p.m. Saturday. Like Tuesday's doubleheader, Saturday's games are considered non-conference games.