Elmira Defeats Sage 2-0 to Advance to ECAC Metro-Upstate Tournament Semifinals
Troy, NY -- In the first round of the ECAC Metro-Upstate Softball Tournament, a pair of two-out runs by the Elmira College softball team (16-13) in the top of the third inning, resulted in a 2-0 win against the third seeded Gators of Sage Colleges (23-14). With the win, the sixth seeded Soaring Eagles advance to this weekend's ECAC Metro-Upstate Semifinals.
EC's starting pitcher,
Alex Puglisi '14, flexed her muscle early-on today as she struck out the first seven batters she faced, eventually finishing with nine strikeouts in five innings of work to earn her ninth win of the year. Classmate
Emilie Rogers '14 picked up her first save of the season as she came in for relief duty in the bottom of the sixth inning. Rogers retired all six batters she faced, getting four of them to strike out.
At the plate, Elmira received timely contributions from
Mikayla Bean '14 and
Megan Anderson '15. The duo each recorded a two-out RBI single in the top of the third inning, bringing home the only two runs of today's game. For Anderson, her third inning hit extends her hitting streak to 17 games.
Krystal Bupp '14 got things started for the Purple and Gold in the top of the third inning as she worked a one-out walk before reaching second base on a sacrifice bunt by
Katie Dore' 15. With two outs and Bupp in scoring position, classmate
Mikayla Bean '14 stepped up to the plate and delivered a single into center field, scoring Bupp from first.
On her RBI single, Bean made her way to second base on the throw from center field to home plate, putting Bean in scoring position. Bean's heads-up play on the base pads proved to be a key moment in today's game as EC's next batter,
Megan Anderson '15, singled down the left field line, scoring Bean from second to put the Soaring Eagles ahead, 2-0.
Elmira's two run cushion proved to be more than enough as Elmira's pitching duo of Puglisi and Rogers combined to strike out 13 batters while allowing just two hits. The only scoring threats Sage had in today's game occurred in the third and fifth innings when the Gators put runners in scoring position with two outs, only to see those runners stranded on a pop-out and a fly-out in both innings.
With the win, Elmira will face second seeded Stockton College, who were 5-0 winners against seventh seeded Drew University today, in the ECAC Metro-Upstate Tournament Semifinals. Game-time is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 10th at Stockton's home field in Galloway, NJ.