WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The Neumann University Softball team closed out their 2025 Spring Trip on Friday afternoon, starting with a heartbreaking 5-4 walk-off loss against Heidelberg University, and a tight 3-2 loss against Simmons University.
In the first game against Heidelberg,
Maddi Katchuk went 2 for 4 with two runs batted in.
Rylie Norris went 2 for 3 with a walk, an RBI, and two runs scored.
Lauren Farrier went the distance as she allowed five runs on eight hits and a walk while striking out two over 6.2 innings.
Katchuk got the Knights on the board in the first inning as she drove in Norris with a single to center. In the third,
Emily Ammon picked up an RBI single and Katchuk followed with her own RBI single for a 3-0 Knights lead. Norris added one more run in the top of the fourth with her own RBI single to right -center, but Heidelberg started to claw back with their own RBI single in the bottom of the frame.
Heidelberg picked up another run in the sixth with an RBI grounds-rule double to pull within two. In the bottom of the seventh, they equalized with an RBI sacrifice fly and run-scoring error, then walked-off with the win on an RBI grounder to stun the Knights.
In the second game,
Alexis Palombi went 3 for 4 with a double to pace the offense.
Tori Spinella was 2 for 4 with a run scored and
Marina Costello drove in two runs.
Ang Sannicandro went 4.2 innings in the defeat, allowing three runs on six hits and two walks, striking out two. Costello went a solid 2.1 innings in relief, only allowing two hits while fanning two.
Spinella started off the offense when she singled into left field and moved to second when E. Ammon singled. Two batters later, Palombi laced a single to center to load the bases. Costello drifted a single through the right side to score Spinella and give the Knights a 1-0 lead.
Simmons got back into the game in the fifth on a two-run double and an RBI single to take the lead at 3-1. In the bottom of the inning, Katchuk picked up a base hit with one away. Palombi placed a double in right-center to move Katchuk to third and Costello drove in Katchuk on a groundout to get Neumann within one, but that is as close as they would come.
Neumann (0-10) returns to Bruder Field for the first time on Wednesday afternoon as they'll host the College of New Jersey in a doubleheader starting at 2:00 PM.