Stevens Ends Season In ECAC Final
Danny Vohden
GALLOWAY, N.J. (May 11, 2014) – The Stevens Institute of Technology softball team dropped a pair of games to Richard Stockton College on Sunday, ending their best season in school history.
With the loss, Stevens' season concludes at 30-13 while Stockton (25-16) captured its second straight ECAC Metro Championship.
Stockton 3, Stevens 0
Stockton took an early lead with one run in the first. After senior pitcher
Kayla Berardi retired the first two batters of the game, sophomore Samantha Shockey singled up the middle and later scored off an RBI single from senior Rachel Forte.
Both teams traded zeroes in the second, but Stockton added to their lead in the third. With sophomore Nicole Tomo on first after a fielding error, Shockey doubled her home with a line-drive to left-center. Stevens rallied in their half of the inning after a one-out double from senior
Stephanie Senkevich, but Stockton senior starter Michelle Pietrocola worked out of the jam without giving up a run.
After a scoreless fourth, Stockton added their final run off an RBI single to center. Stevens put a runner on in the sixth and seventh, but were unable to get them around to score as Pietrocola worked around a lead-off single from freshman
Jessica Rees in the last inning to seal the Stevens loss.
Senior
Danielle DeFeo, Rees and Senkevich combined for Stevens' three hits, while Berardi surrendered just one earned run and struck-out four in the losing effort.
Stockton 3, Stevens 1
Both teams traded zeroes through the first two innings, but Stockton broke through in the third when Tomo doubled-home sophomore Dominique Dorris with two outs to take a 1-0 lead.
Stevens answered in bottom of the inning by putting runners at first and second after an error and a single, but starter Pietrocola wiggled out of the jam with a strikeout and a fly-out.
Stockton took advantage of the jam-escape by extending the lead the in the fourth. With runners at first and second and out-out, sophomore Gianna Cuffari singled-home one before freshman Holly Arentowicz extended the lead with an RBI fielder's choice.
After a scoreless fifth and sixth, Stevens rallied in the seventh. Sophomore
Sydney Spitz tripled to lead-off the inning and scored off a Senkevich single, but Stockton worked-out of the jam by retiring the final three Ducks in-a-row.
Senkevich led the Ducks offensively with two hits and an RBI, while DeFeo, freshman
Emily Sellitti, Mulligan, and Spitz each chipped-in with a hit.
Despite the losses on Sunday, Stevens established several school records this season including wins, win-streak, and number of athletes on All-Empire 8 teams.