Bombers and Saxons Take Two; Pioneers and Soaring Eagles Split
ALFRED v Nazareth
The Alfred University softball team swept an Empire 8 Conference doubleheader from visiting Nazareth Saturday afternoon. The Saxons used a seventh-inning rally to earn a 4-3 win in the opener, and exploded for nine runs in the third inning en route to a 15-6 five-inning win in the second game.
With the wins, AU improves to 19-5 overall and 4-2 in conference play, while Nazareth falls to 7-13 overall and 2-4 in league play.
In the first game, AU scored twice in the seventh inning to erase a 3-2 Nazareth lead. Sophomore second baseman
Dana Torchia (Pompton Plains, NJ/Pequannock Twp.) hit a walk-off two-run single with two outs and the bases loaded, scoring senior
Danielle Mastropierro (Randolph, NJ/Randolph) with the tying run and senior outfielder
Rachel Guszick (Sparrowbush, NY/Port Jervis) with the game-winner.
Junior pitcher
Alison Wickwire (Towanda, PA/Towanda) got the complete-game win for AU, allowing one earned run while scattering nine hits and striking out nine. Wickwire, who improved to 8-2 on the year, also got the Saxons' seventh-inning rally started with a leadoff double.
The Saxons led 1-0 after three innings and 2-1 after five. Nazareth scored two in the seventh to take a 3-2 lead, setting the stage for Torchia's late-game heroics.
Guszick was 2-for-2 with three runs scored; sophomore outfielder
Samantha Jauregui (Lindsay, CA/Lindsay) was 2-for-3; and freshman third baseman
Liz Thompson (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) hit an RBI single.
In the second game, AU trailed 5-3 heading into the bottom of the third, but the Saxons sent 14 batters to the plate and scored nine time to take a 12-5 lead after three. The Saxons plated three more in the bottom of the fourth, then set the Golden Flyers down in order in the fifth to claim the run-rule victory.
Guszick drove in three runs with a two-run double and sacrifice fly and scored a run and Wickwire was 3-for-4 with a triple, a double, a run scored and four driven in to lead the Saxons' 16-hit offensive attack. Sophomore shortstop
Nicole Maher (Newark, DE/Caravel Academy) (double, two RBIs) and senior outfielder
Samijo Scheer (Corning, NY/Corning East) (one RBI) were each 3-for-4 with three runs scored.
Senior outfielder
Stephanie Arguello (Placentia, CA/Vista del Lago) was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and one driven in, and sophomore catcher
Nora Passuite (Lockport, NY/Lockport) scored twice and drove in two runs.
Sophomore pitcher
Sophia Chiavatti (Santa Ana, CA/Foothills) earned the win with 2 2/3 innings of relief of sophomore starter
Katelyn Jakobsen (Elmwood Park, IL/Elmwood Park). Chiavatti allowed two earned runs on five hits, striking out three.
ITHACA v Stevens
The Ithaca College softball team swept a home doubleheader with Stevens Saturday afternoon, defeating the Ducks by a score of 1-0 in game one before winning the second game, 5-1. The sweep puts Ithaca's record at 18-8, including a record of 7-3 in the conference. Stevens falls to 23-9 with a mark of 6-4 in the Empire 8.
Game 1
: Ithaca – 1, Stevens – 0
Senior
Sam Bender recorded three strikeouts and earned the complete game shutout win over Stevens in game one. Senior
Sydney Folk paced the Bombers with two hits, including a double in three at bats. Junior
Francesca Busa also picked up a double, going 1-for-3 with a RBI.
A pitchers' duel carried a scoreless game into the bottom of the fourth before the Bombers were able to score. Ithaca broke the scoring drought with a run on two hits in the frame, jumping out to a 1-0 lead. Sophomore
Casey Gavin reached base on a single in the beginning of the inning, eventually moving to third on two-straight sacrifice bunts from junior
Monica Capolongo and sophomore
Erin McQuillan. With two outs, Busa doubled to center field, bringing Gavin home for the game-winning run.
Neither side scored again, giving the Bombers a 1-0 win in game one of the doubleheader.
Game 2
: Ithaca – 5, Stevens– 1
Bender once again earned the complete game win in the second contest of the day. She picked up three strikeouts and allowed just one earned run, improving her record to 11-3 on the season. Folk had another strong showing at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a double and three RBI. Freshman
Jessie Fleck went 2-for-2 with two singles. She also picked up a RBI and scored two runs.
Stevens struck first in game two, going up by a score of 1-0 on two hits in the top of the third inning.
The Bombers answered in the bottom of the frame, scoring three runs on three hits and two Stevens' errors to go up, 3-1. With a runner on third and no outs, Fleck sent a single to left field to bring home the first run of the inning. A hit and a sacrifice bunt in the next two at bats put runners at second and third, before Folk sent a double down the right field line to score both runs.
Ithaca added insurance in the fifth, as the Bombers scored two more runs on four hits in the inning. With one out and runners at second and third, Folk sent a single to left field. One run scored on the play, giving the Bombers a 4-1 lead and loading the bases. Sophomore
Kelly Robichaud was hit by a pitch in the next at bat, forcing a run home and giving Ithaca the 5-1 lead.
Bender held the Ducks scoreless for the remainder of the game, giving the Bombers a 5-1 win and a sweep of the doubleheader.
ELMIRA v UTICA
Elmira and Utica split its Empire 8 Conference double-header Saturday afternoon, with the Pioneers winning 7-4 in game one before the Soaring Eagles came back to win 7-3 in the second game.
The Pioneers move to 14-7 overall and 3-3 in the Empire 8 while Elmira moves to 7-11 and 2-6 in the conference. UC has now split its last three E8 series.
Utica 7, Elmira 4- Game One Final
The Pioneers jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the first inning behind a leadoff home run from senior
Chelsea Monroe (Watertown, NY/General Brown). Next up, a two-RBI single by
Cassie Smith (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central) drove in
Meghan Matan (Latham, NY/Shaker) and
Courtney Fitzgerald (Albany, NY/Colonie Central).
The Soaring Eagles got one run back in the second inning, but it was short lived as Fitzgerald crushed a sky rocket over the left field wall, scoring three runs. An error in the fifth inning resulted in Matan scoring from third to cap off the Utica scoring. Sophomore
Abby Monroe (Watertown, NY/General Brown) gave up three earned runs and struck out six in five innings of work, before classmate
Erica Colucci (Glenville, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) stepped in to close the game. Colucci allowed just two hits in the final two innings to seal the victory.
Matan was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate, while Fitzgerald was 2-for-2 and Smith was 2-for-3.
Chelsea Monroe (Watertown, NY/General Brown),
Christy Traglia (Mohawk, NY/Mohawk),
Alysa Russell (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville),
Kassidy Ogren (Albany, NY/Colonie Central), and
Taylor Ellis (Willet, NY/Greene) each had one hit. Russell's single extended her hitting streak to a career-best 17 games, before it was snapped in the second game of the day.
Fitzgerald now has 18 career home runs, just one shy of the program record of 19 set by Abby Drew '09. She is also just one RBI shy of tying 2013 graduate
Mallory Ingalls(Oriskany, NY/Oriskany) for third on the College's career RBI list. Matan surpassed Ingalls for third on the all-time hits list. She currently has 151 hits as a Pioneer.
Game Two -- Elmira 7, Utica 3
It was a complete reversal in game two as EC's power bats put on a show in the second inning. Both pitchers made quick work in the first inning, going three-up, three-down. But the Soaring Eagles would put five runs on the board in the top of the second inning to take a commanding lead.
Day, who seemingly broke out of her slump against Penn Tech the previous day, blasted a solo shot to left field to put EC on top 1-0. Anderson followed with a single, but game two's starting pitcher,
Emilie Rogers '14, would fly out to left field for the second out of the inning. Heggie walked to advance Anderson to second and then
Krystal Bupp '14 singled to right field to load the bases, bringing Dore to the plate. With one swing of the bat, Dore broke open the game as she sent a towering drive out of the park to left center field for her first home run since the 2012 season.
Rogers continued to roll through the Utica lineup, as she compiled five strikeouts through the first eight batters she faced, but Rogers ran into some trouble with two outs in the bottom of the third. After recording her fourth and fifth strikeouts of the game, Rogers gave up back-to-back singles to put runners on first and second. The very next batter hit a double, plating both runners to make it a 5-2 game. Rogers would end the threat by getting the next batter to pop out.
Both offenses would go quiet until the seventh inning. EC would get an RBI groundout from Dore for one insurance run and then Heggie would score from third on a passed ball to push Elmira's lead to 7-2. That would be plenty for Rogers, who despite giving up a run in the bottom of the seventh inning, would move to 4-1 on the season after the Soaring Eagles' 7-3 victory.