St. Lawrence University Athletics

Elle Gray hit a walk-off grand slam to lead the St. Lawrence University softball team to a 5-3 win over Washington and Jefferson College, and the Saints beat Thomas 12-7 in their second game of the day to improve to 7-1 on the season on Wednesday afternoon in Clermont, Florida.

Gray's grand slam was her second of the season and increased her RBI total to 16 in just eight games this season.

The Saints fell behind the Fighting Scots 3-0, as Washington and Jefferson scored a pair of runs in the top of the sixth inning. Gray cut the lead to two, scoring from second on a fielder's choice in the bottom of the sixth, setting up the walk-off bomb the next inning.

St. Lawrence, hitting .383 as a team, was held to just five hits against the Fighting Scots. Madison Mitchell, however, kept the game within reach for the Saints, throwing her fourth complete game of the season. She allowed three runs on five hits and two walks and struck out nine.

Abby Cunningham led Washington and Jefferson, going 3-for-3 at the plate with two runs scored.

Gray's heroics in game one seemed to rub off on the rest of the Saints in their second game of the day, as the team matched a season high with 16 hits. 

The Saints jumped out to an early 3-0 lead thanks to Emma Reakes' two-run home run in the top of the first, but Thomas responded by building a 6-4 lead at the end of the third inning. St. Lawrence came back with eight unanswered runs to put the game away.

Reakes finished 2-for-4 with three RBI and three runs scored, while Taylor Armijo was 3-for-5 with a triple, a stolen base and two runs scored. Caitlin Syphurs was 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI, and Deanna Sullivan was 2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored. 

Allie Courtwright got the win in relief, allowing one run in 2.1 innings, and Mitchell came on to earn her first career save, allowing one run over the final three innings.

The 7-1 start matches the program's best record through eight games, set in 2003. The team is averaging 9.5 runs per game, more than twice last year's scoring average of 4.4. 

The Saints will face Oberlin and Lawrence on Thursday, then close out their spring break trip against Oberlin and Allegheny on Friday.