Nazareth v Houghton
Sophomore
Carly Pike doubled home the winning runs in the first game and added a three-run homer in the second game as host Nazareth swept a softball doubleheader from Houghton Saturday. Nazareth won the first game in walk-off fashion, 5-4, and captured the nightcap, 8-1.
Pike had four hits and six runs batted in on the day. With Nazareth trailing 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning,
Morgan Ross and
Kailey Ritch each singled to put the tying and winning runs on base. A sacrifice bunt by
Maureen Rogers moved the runners to second and third and
Sarah Cipperly walked to load the bases. Pike then drove the next pitch to right-center field for the game-winning double. Freshman
Mary Greco, who pitched three innings of three-hit relief with three strikeouts, was the winning pitcher.
Nazareth scored twice in the first inning after Ritch drew a one-out walk and scored on a double by Cipperly. Pike followed with an RBI single to give Nazareth a 2-1 lead. After Houghton went ahead with single runs in the third and sixth innings, Nazareth evened the score at 3-3 in the bottom of the sixth on a bases-loaded single by
Meg DeMario. Houghton regained the led in the top of the seventh with an unearned run, setting the stage for Pike's walk-off heroics in the bottom half of the inning.
Nazareth banged out a season-high 14 hits to dominate the second game. Ross went 3-for-4 and Ritch, Rogers and Pike had two hits each. The Golden Flyers plated five runs in the third -- all after two outs -- to erase a 1-0 deficit. Consecutive singles by Ross, Ritch, Rogers and Cipperly accounted for the first two runs. Pike then stepped up to deliver a three-run homer, her first of the season, to left-center field.
Three more runs came home in the fifth inning. Pike had a one-out double, advanced to third on a single by
Sophia Rhoades and scored on a single by
Shauna Bardanis. A single by
Danae Wetherbee loaded the bases, then Rhoades scored on a sacrifice fly by
Meghan Barry. Ross then added a run-scoring single.
Wetherbee pitched five solid innings, allowing four hits, to gain the pitching win.
Nicole Bayona followed with two innings of no-hit relief.
Stevens v Elmira
The Stevens Institute of Technology softball team secured back-to-back walk-off wins against Elmira on Saturday, winning game one 2-1 before completing the sweep with a 3-2 win in game two.
The wins moved the Ducks record to 21-5, tying them for the most wins in school history. With the losses Elmira dropped to 3-7.
Stevens 2, Elmira 1
Stevens got the scoring going early when senior
Danielle DeFeo led-off the game with a single, and later scored on a wild pitch. Senior
Kayla Berardi held the lead after working around a lead-off single in the second before Elmira senior starter Alex Puglisi did the same in the bottom of the inning.
Stevens threatened in the third with runners at first and second and one out, but Puglisi was able to get out of the jam with a ground-out fielder's choice off the bat of freshman
Jessica Rees, and a strikeout of freshman
Emily Sellitti to end the inning.
Elmira mounted a threat of their own in the top of the fourth by loading the bases with two outs, but Berardi struck-out junior Katie Dore to get out of the jam. Stevens returned with a rally in the bottom of the inning, but with the bases loaded and two-outs, sophomore
Gavriella Risman-Jones flied out to left to end the inning.
Puglisi helped her own cause with a lead-off home run to left in the fifth, but Berardi escaped further trouble thanks to a double-play where the Elmira runner at second was thrown out in a ground ball pick-off before the batter was thrown out trying to reach second. The Ducks went down in order in the fifth before Berardi escaped a first and second jam in the sixth with a groundout to short.
Berardi retired the side in order in the seventh, setting-up the Stevens walk-off. With freshman
Gina Schnecker on second after pinch-running for junior
Jamie DeGennaro, Sellitti ripped a line-drive single that went off the shortstop's glove, allowing Schnecker to score the winning run.
Berardi went the distance, striking out five to earn her tenth win of the season. Offensively, DeGennaro led the team with two hits.
Stevens 3, Elmira 2
Elmira mounted a rally in the first after Dore and Puglisi reached to lead-off the game, but junior pitcher
Brianna Sandone worked-out of the jam, retiring the final three batters to end the threat.
Both teams traded zeroes in the second, but Elmira broke-through in the third. Dore led-off the inning with a walk, then stole second and scored off a single from freshman Cassidy Genco. Senior hurler Emelie Rogers made the lead stand with a one-two-three inning in the Ducks half of the inning.
Elmira rallied again in the fourth after they put runners at second and third with two outs, but Sellitti made a diving play on a ground-ball at third to end the inning. Stevens capitalized on the momentum, and after junior
Jamie DeGennaro singled with one-out, Sellitti blasted a home-run to left to give the Ducks a 2-1 lead.
After a scoreless fifth, Elmira tied the game with an RBI double from senior Mikayla Bean in the sixth. The Soaring Eagles bid for more with runners at second and third, but a diving catch from sophomore
Sydney Spitz at second and a strikeout from Berardi on in relief preserved the tie.
In the bottom of the seventh, Spitz singled to lead-off and reached second off an error from short. Spitz then stole third, but Puglisi retired the final three batters in relief to send the game to extras. In the eighth, Elmira had runners at first and third with one out, but DeFeo alertly threw home on a groundball to short to get the second out before Berardi induced a fly-out to end the inning.
Stevens capitalized on the play and won the game in the eighth. Risman-Jones led-off the inning with a single and advanced to third on DeGennaro's ground-out. After a passed ball put her at third, Rees doubled to left to push across the winning run.
Berardi picked-up her eleventh win of the season in relief while Sellitti led the team with two RBIs. Risman-Jones scored once off two hits.
Ithaca v Utica
Ithaca split a home doubleheader with Utica Saturday afternoon. The Bombers won the first game, 7-3, before falling to the Pioneers by a score of 9-6 in game two at Kostrinsky Field. The Bombers are now 14-6 on the year, including a record of 3-1 in the Empire 8. Utica is now 12-5 overall with a conference mark of 1-1.
Game 1
Senior
Sam Bender improved her record to 8-2 with the game one victory. She recorded two strikeouts and allowed just three earned runs in 5.0 innings. Sophomore
Laura Quicker pitched in relief, holding the Pioneers to zero hits in the final 2.0 innings. Sophomore
Casey Gavin was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate, also scoring two runs and picking up a RBI. Senior
Sydney Folk paced Ithaca with two RBI, going 2-for-4 with two doubles.
The Bombers scored all the runs they would need in the bottom of the first, scoring four runs on four hits in the frame. With runners at second and third base, Folk hit her first double of the contest to bring home two Ithaca runs. A single from Gavin in the following at bat moved Folk to third, allowing for a double steal attempt. Gavin moved to second to draw attention away from Folk, allowing her to steal home on the play for a 3-0 lead. The Bombers would score another run in the frame to push their lead to 4-0.
Utica finally got on the board with a run on one hit in the top of the third, cutting Ithaca's lead to 4-1. The Bombers responded with more offense in the bottom of the inning. With the bases loaded, sophomore
Erin McQuillan was hit by a pitch, bringing home another Bomber run. With one out and the bases still loaded, junior
Francesca Busa grounded out to third to score the runner at third for a 6-1 Ithaca lead.
The Bombers scored one more run in the bottom of the fourth, giving Ithaca the commanding 7-1 advantage. Utica did put up two more runs in the fifth, but it wouldn't be enough as the Bombers came away with the 7-3 game one win.
Game 2
After trailing 4-0 early for the second straight game, the Pioneers exploded for seven runs in the top of the fourth -- led by Chelsea Monroe's grand slam -- to take a 7-4 lead. Ithaca scored two runs in the fifth and trailed by just one, 7-6, but the Pioneers were able to manufacture one run in each of the sixth and seventh innings to secure the three run victory.
Erica Colucci pitched five innings and struck out two to put the Pioneers in position to win game two. A. Monroe pitched two innings of tremendous relief work, holding Ithaca scoreless, to earn the save.
Monroe finished game two going 2-for-4 with four RBIs, while Smith went 3-for-4 with two RBI's.
Alysa Russell (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville) went 2-for-4 with one run scored in game two, while senior
Meghan Matan (Latham, NY/Shaker) went 2-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored.
St. John Fisher v Alfred
The St. John Fisher College earned its seventh-straight victory with a 6-5 win at Alfred University in the first game. The Saxons rebounded to take the nightcap, 6-4. With the split, Fisher moves to 15-5 on the season, and 3-3 in the Empire 8, while Alfred moves to 17-5 overall and 2-2 in conference play.
Game 1
Trailing 4-0 in the third inning of the opener,
Jessie Smyrski led off with a single and moved into scoring position after an Alfred error. Smyrski would score Fisher's first run two batters later when yesterday's hero,
Jennifer Knaak, laced an RBI-single scoring Smyrski in the process.
The Saxons would get the run right back, however, making it 5-1 after three hits in the home-half of the third.
After swapping zeroes in the fourth and fifth innings, Fisher got on the board in a big way in the sixth.
Jessica D'Angelo led off the frame with a long double, but didn't remain at second base for long. The next batter,
Genevieve Paeglow, ripped a two-run blast over the fence to bring Fisher within two runs, 5-3. After a groundout,
Karlie Neale earned a pinch-hit single and would be followed by a Smyrski double.
Kate Disbrow would reach after another Saxon error to load the bases.
Meghan Burns stepped into the box and lined a bases-clearing triple to give Fisher the 6-5 lead which it would not relinquish.
Halie Schoff went the distance for Fisher, tossing seven innings and giving up five runs (four earned) on 13 hits to earn her eighth win of the season.
Game 2
AU junior pitcher
Alison Wickwire got the start in the nightcap. She allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits over six innings, striking out six to improve to 7-2 on the year. Junior
Tori Kramp allowed two hits in a scoreless seventh inning to earn the save.
Wickwire helped herself at the plate, belting a two-run homerun in the second inning. Freshman third baseman
Liz Thompson hit an RBI single in the second and senior outfielder
Samijo Scheer hit a solo homer in the third to give AU the 4-0 lead after three.
After Fisher scored a run in the fourth to make it 4-1, AU plated single runs in the fourth and fifth innings to go up 6-1. Fisher scored three times in the seventh before Kramp closed the door on the Cardinals' comeback bid.
Wickwire and Thompson each had two hits for the Saxons. Sophomore shortstop
Nicole Maher went 2-for-3 with a triple and a runs scored; sophomore second baseman
Dana Torchia hit a triple and scored a run; and senior outfielder
Rachel Guszick hit an RBI double and scored a run.