Sunday Splits for Softball Teams
STEVENS v UTICA
The Stevens Institute of Technology softball team split a doubleheader with Utica College on Sunday. The Ducks took game one 6-1 before the Pioneers rebounded to take game two 5-4 in nine innings.
The win in game one was the twenty-second of the year Stevens (22-5) which is the most in school history. Utica moved to 13-6 with the split.
Stevens 6, Utica 1
Stevens struck early when junior
Jamie DeGennaro singled-home senior
Danielle DeFeo in the first, who had led off the inning with a single. Senior
Kayla Berardi made the lead hold-up with a scoreless second before inducing a ground-ball in the third with the bases loaded to get out of a jam.
The Ducks capitalized on the momentum, scoring three more in the third. Berardi bunted junior
Noelle Mulligan to second for the first out of the inning, where DeFeo singled her home and advanced to second on an error. Sophomore
Gavriella Risman-Jones followed-up with a bunt single before DeGennaro reached on a throwing error by the pitcher that allowed both runners to score.
Berardi made the rally stick with a one-two-three inning in the fourth allowing Stevens to add to the lead in the fifth. Freshman
Kelly Klewicki singled to lead-off, stole second and third, then scored on a wild pitch to extend the Sevens lead to 5-0.
Utica finally broke-through in the fifth when sophomore Alyssa Russell singled-home sophomore Abby Monroe, but Stevens got the run back in the bottom of the inning off a DeGennaro double that scored DeFeo.
Berardi worked around a lead-off single in the sixth before retiring the side in order in the seventh to seal the win. Berardi finished the game with six strikeouts to earn her twelfth win of the season.
Offensively, DeGennaro led all hitters with four RBIs while DeFeo added three hits and scroed three runs.
Utica 5, Stevens 4
Stevens jumped out to a 3-0 lead after three innings in game two before freshman
Kassidy Ogren (Albany, NY/Colonie Central) broke the deadlock as she drove in
Meghan Matan (Latham, NY/Shaker) to cut the lead to 3-1. Stevens responded, however, with one run in the fifth inning to regain the three-run lead. UC mounted a dramatic comeback in the seventh inning, scoring three runs to send the game to extra innings.
Christy Traglia (Mohawk, NY/Mohawk) started the comeback effort as she doubled to left field to score
Chelsea Monroe (Watertown, NY/General Brown).
Alysa Russell(Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville) followed that up with a double of her own to score Traglia.
Cassie Smith (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central) capped off the comeback as she singled to second base, scoring Russell, before Matan's ninth inning heroics gave UC the win.
UC had 14 hits in game two as Matan finished 4-for-5 at the plate, while Smith had three hits.
Chelsea Monroe (Watertown, NY/General Brown), Traglia and Russell each had two hits and Fitzgerald added one. Monroe and Matan also had one stolen base each.
Abby Monroe (Watertown, NY/General Brown) had five strikeouts in the first five innings, before
Erica Colucci (Glenville, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) struck out four and did not allow a run in the final four innings to collect her fifth win of the season.
ITHACA v ELMIRA
Ithaca and Elmira split a doubleheader with Elmira earning a 1-0 win in the first game and the Bombers pulled out a 3-1 extra innings win in the nightcap.
The split puts the Bombers record at 15-7, including a record of 4-2 in the Empire 8. Elmira is now 4-8 overall with a mark of 1-3 in the conference.
Elmira 1, Ithaca 0
Game one was a pitcher's duel as the first five innings passed without a single run being scored. Both teams had chances to breakthrough, with Ithaca stranding a runner on third in the top of the second inning and leaving another pair of runners on base in the top of the fifth, while Elmira had the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth with one out, only to see all three runners left on base.
Elmira landed the game's first and only punch in the bottom of the sixth inning. Rookie
Emily Carlin '17 got things started with two-out double, allowing speedster
Julianne Heggie'16 to pinch run.
Ashley Palmer '16 kept the inning going with a five-pitch walk before Ithaca recorded another out. With two outs, Bean would bring home the eventual game-winning run as her hit to center field allowed Heggie to slide past the Ithaca catcher for the game's only run.
In the top half of the seventh, Alex Puglisi allowed the leadoff batter to reach on a hot-shot up the middle, but the crafty veteran would close the door on Ithaca as she retired the next three batters, sealing Elmira's 1-0 win.
Ithaca 3, Elmira 1 (11 innings)
Sophomore
Laura Quicker earned the marathon win for the Bombers in game two, pitching all 11.0 innings in the victory. Quicker allowed one earned run and six hits in that span. She also recorded three strikeouts. Fleck picked up one of the Bombers' two hits, going 1-for-4 at the plate with a single. Senior
Julianne Vincent and junior
Francesca Busa each picked up a RBI in the victory.
Similar to game one, neither team was able to cross home until late, as Ithaca jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the eighth inning. Senior
Sydney Folk earned a walk before being taken out in favor of
Jenna Tambasco as a pinch runner. An error in the Elmira outfield allowed Tambasco to move to third, eventually setting up a sacrifice fly from Busa in the next at bat to make it 1-0.
The Soaring Eagles answered with a run in the bottom of the eighth, tying the contest on three hits to extend the game.
Ithaca iced the contest in the top of the 11th, as the Bombers scored two runs on two hits and an error to jump out to a 3-1 advantage. With sophomore
Erin McQuillan placed at second due to the international tiebreaker rule, Busa moved her to third on a sacrifice bunt. Vincent put down another sacrifice bunt in the following at bat, bringing McQuillan home for the eventual game winning run.
After Ithaca added an insurance run, the Soaring Eagles threatened with runners on first and third in the bottom of the frame. Quicker pitched out of the jam, recording three-straight outs to earn the extra-innings win for the Bombers.