Nazareth & Fisher Win Twice; Stevens Splits
Nazareth v Elmira
Visiting Nazareth swept an Empire 8 Conference softball doubleheader from Elmira Thursday as the Golden Flyers won their first two conference games of the season 4-1 and 5-2.
The Golden Flyers took advantage of four Elmira errors to score four unearned runs in the first game. Freshmen pitchers
Nicole White and
Mary Greco combined to throw a four-hitter. White gained her first pitching win of the season and Greco earned the save.
Nazareth scored twice in the second inning after a one-out single by
Sophia Rhoades.
Shauna Bardanis reached on an infield error and both runners scored on a double by
Meg DeMario.
After Elmira scored in the sixth inning to close within 2-1, Nazareth added a pair of insurance runs in the seventh as
Carly Pike reached on a single and Rhoades walked. Both scored on a pair of Soaring Eagles errors.
In the second game, Nazareth rallied from a 2-0 defict to score once in the fifth inning and four more times in the seventh. Sophomore
Danae Wetherbee gained the pitching win as she yielded just four hits over six innings.
Nicole Bayona pitched seventh inning to gain the save.
Senior
Kailey Ritch scored Nazareth's first run in the sixth after drawing a one-out walk. She advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on an infield error. The Golden Flyers sealed the deal with four more runs in the seventh. Bardanis and Wetherbee each reached on errors and
Morgan Ross followed with a run-scoring single. Ritch was hit by a pitch to load the bases and
Maureen Rogers cleared the bases with a double.
St. John Fisher v Houghton
The St. John Fisher College softball team improved to 17-7 on the season after sweeping a road doubleheader against the Houghton College Highlanders 12-0 (5 innings) and 5-4 on Thursday.
Game 1
In the opening game, the visiting Cardinals got off to a quick start, scoring two runs in the first inning on doubles by
Meghan Burns and
Jessie Smyrski.
After a scoreless second inning, Fisher had a monster third, scoring nine runs on eight hits to take a commanding 11-0 lead. After three doubles consecutive doubles to lead off the frame including back-to-back RBI-doubles by
Jennifer Knaak and
Lauren Owens,
Jessica D'Angelo would reach first base on a Highlander error and promptly swipe second. The next batter, Smyrski, walked to load the bases with no outs. Fisher would score its third run of the inning and fifth of the game as Houghton's pitcher missed her target, allowing the runners to advance on the errant pitch. With runners on second and third and the home team yet to record an out,
Samantha Poules laced a bases-clearing single up the middle to give Fisher a 7-0 lead, but Fisher wasn't done yet, plating four more runs on a towering grand slam off the bat of Burns.
Fisher would add one more run in the fifth when Karli Neale lifted an RBI-double to bring the score to 12-0.
As a team, Fisher clubbed 15 hits and drew four walks, while the Highlanders accounted for four singles in the contest. Burns nearly hit for the cycle in the game, falling only a triple short after going 4-for-4 at the dish with four runs scored and four RBI.
Lauren Wesolowski was sensational in the circle for Fisher, tossing three scoreless innings while scattering two singles to pick up her fourth win of the season.
Game 2
In the nightcap, Houghton would take an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, but Fisher would get a run back in the second courtesy of an RBI-single by
Christina Sakran to make it 2-1.
The Cardinals would knot the game at two runs apiece in the third after Smyrski stepped to the plate and launched a double to deep right field scoring D'Angelo who had walked and stolen second base earlier in the inning.
After swapping zeroes in the fourth and fifth innings, Fisher would take the lead for good in the sixth. After recording two quick outs, Smyrski kept the inning alive with a single and quickly scored as the very next batter, Poules, laced an RBI-double and would advance ninety-feet to third base after a Houghton error. Head coach
Bari Mance's decision to call for a pinch hitter would pay off as
Olivia Fusilli gave Fisher an insurance run with an RBI-single to make it 4-2.
The Cardinals added to their lead in the seventh and final inning. Owens put herself in scoring position on a long double, but wouldn't remain at second for long as D'Angelo belted an RBI-double to the fence to put Fisher up 5-2.
Down to its final three outs, Houghton made things interesting, as the Highlanders plated two runs in the bottom of the seventh and had the winning run on base, but it was not to be as Fisher induced a pop-up to second base to end the game.
Hillary Panek earned her first win of the season after throwing six strong innings. She gave up two runs and tallied three strikeouts in the game.
Megan Keib earned her first save of the year despite giving up two runs in the seventh.
Stevens v Stockton
Junior
Jamie DeGennaro drove-in all four of the team's runs on Thursday, as the Stevens Institute of Technology softball team split a doubleheader with Stockton with a 3-0 win in game one before a 3-1 loss in game two.
The split moves the Ducks record to 23-7 while Stockton is now 18-10.
Stevens 3, Stockton 0
Stockton threatened immediately against senior starter
Kayla Berardi with back-to-back singles to start the game. Berardi settled though, inducing a ground-ball double play before inducing a ground-out to short to end the inning. The Ospreys threatened again in the second with runners at second and third and one out, but Klewicki caught a fly-ball and gunned-out the runner trying to tag at home to preserve the scoreless game.
Stockton senior starter Michelle Pietrocola struck-out the side in the second and retired the side in order in the third, but Berardi matched-her with zeroes of her own through the first four innings, stranding five runners in the process.
The Ducks finally broke-through in the fourth when after sophomore
Gavriella Risman-Jones singled to lead-off, DeGennaro ripped an RBI double to left-center. Berardi made the lead stand with a one-two-three inning in the fifth, allowing Stevens to add to it in the bottom of the inning.
With junior
Noelle Mulligan on second after a walk, and senior
Danielle DeFeo on first, DeGennaro lined a double to right-center to score both and give the Ducks a 3-0 lead. The runs were enough for Berardi, who retired the side in order in the sixth and seventh to seal the win.
Berardi struck-out two to earn her thirteenth win of the season, while DeGennaro drove in all three runs off two doubles. DeFeo, Risman-Jones and Mulligan each scored a run.
Stockton 3, Stevens 1
Stockton mounted a rally in the first with the bases loaded and nobody out, but junior starter Megan Lorenz induced a fielder's choice ground-ball-out before freshman
Jessica Rees nailed a tagging-up runner at the plate for a double-play to keep the game scoreless.
The Ospreys did break through in the second when sophomore Gianna Cuffari hit an RBI single to right, but Lorenz escaped further trouble by inducing a ground-ball-out at third. After a scoreless third, Stockton added two more in the fourth to take a 3-0 lead, but a diving catch at short from DeFeo minimized the damage.
Both teams traded zeroes in the fifth before Stevens scored in the sixth. After Risman-Jones tripled to lead-off, DeGennaro hit a sacrifice fly to left to get her across to cut the deficit to two. Junior starter Brittany Ksiezopolski held the lead though, inducing a ground-ball double play to end the inning.
Stevens started a rally in the seventh after sophomore
Sydney Spitz singled to lead-off, but Ksiezopolsk worked around it, retiring the next three batters to end the game.
Lorenz pitched well in her second start of the year, stranding eight base runners over seven strong innings. DeGennaro had the Ducks lone RBI along with a hit.