Alfred Takes Two; Ithaca Splits; Naz Falls
ALFRED
The Alfred University softball team swept two games Tuesday on the Saxons' second day of action in their 12-game Spring Break trip in Tuscon, AZ.
In the opener, AU (3-1) defeated Cedar Crest, 10-2, in a game that ended after five innings due to the eight-run rule. The Saxons then defeated Baldwin Wallace, 8-0 in a six-inning shortened game, to avenge a loss to the Yellowjackets on Monday.
In Tuesday's game against Baldwin Wallace, AU jumped out to an early lead, just as they had Monday, plating a pair of runs in the top of the second and three more in the third. Sophomore
Sophia Chiavatti (Austin, CA/Foothills) had an RBI single and sophomore outfielder
Hannah Lawrence (Spencer, NY/Spencer-Van Etten) drove in a run with a fielder's choice to give Alfred a 2-0 second-inning lead.
In the third, sophomore third baseman
Liz Thompson (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly by junior second baseman
Dana Torchia (Pompton Plains, NJ/Pequannock Twp.) Junior
Nora Passuite (Lockport, NY/Lockport) hit a run scoring single and came around to score on a Chiavatti double to give AU the 5-0 lead in the third.
Unlike Monday, when AU allowed Baldwin Wallace to come back and win, the Saxons held firm, thanks to solid pitching from freshman
Kyra Nadzam (New Smyrna Beach, FL/New Smyrna Beach). She went the distance for the shutout, allowing six hits over six innings and striking out one. AU gave Nadzam some insurance in the sixth, scoring three times to put the game out of reach. Torchia hit an RBI single and the final two runs scored when junior shortstop
Nicole Maher (Newark, DE/Caravel Academy) reached on an error.
Chiavatti finished 3-for-3 with a pair of RBIs and Maher hit two doubles and scored twice to lead the Saxon bats.
Torchia drove in two runs; Passuite scored twice and had an RBI; and senior first baseman
Alison Wickwire (Towanda, PA/Towanda) hit a double and scored a run. Thompson and senior outfielder
Alyson Hampton (Oxnard, CA/Oxnard) each scored once for the Saxons.
In the earlier win against Cedar Crest, Torchia had two hits, scored three runs and drove in one, and Maher was 2-for-3 with a homerun and four RBIs for the Saxons.
Junior outfielder
Samantha Jauregui (Lindsay, CA/Lindsay) was 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI; Hampton and Wickwire each scored twice; junior catcher
Jasmine Picini (Alexandria, VA/West Potomac) went 2-for-2 with a run-scoring double; and freshman
Haley Powers (Newark, DE/St. Georges Tech) had a hit and drove in a run.
Freshman pitcher
Shannon Schaefer (Neptune, NJ/Westfield) got her second win in two appearances, going five innings and allowing two runs on two hits while striking out six.
ITHACA
The Ithaca College softball team earned the second split of its California road trip on Tuesday night. The Bombers fell to Chapman by a score of 3-1 in game one, before dropping the host Panthers, 7-3, in the second game of the doubleheader. The Bombers' overall record moves to 2-2 on the year.
Game 1: Chapman – 3, Ithaca – 1
Junior
Laura Quicker was credited with loss in game one after giving up three earned runs on seven hits in 6.0 innings of work. Junior
Erin McQuillan and sophomore
Jessie Fleck each recorded a hit in the contest, with McQuillan also picking up an RBI.
The Panthers got on the board first in the opening game of the doubleheader, scoring two runs on two hits in the bottom of the first inning. Chapman added to its lead in the fourth, sending one runner home on two hits to improve the Panther advantage to 3-0.
Ithaca responded with a run in the top of the seventh frame to cut into Chapman's lead. With two outs and junior
Casey Gavin on second base, McQuillan hit a single to bring home the Bomber run. McQuillan tried to advance to second on the throw to home, but was tagged out on the play. The out ended the frame and gave the Panthers a 3-1 win.
Game 2: Ithaca – 7, Chapman – 3
Junior
Allison Macari earned the complete game victory in the second contest of the day, marking her first win of the young season. She allowed just one earned run and recorded five strikeouts in the win.
Gavin led the charge offensively for the Bombers in game two, as she went 3-for-3 with a double. She also picked up two RBI and scored two runs. Freshman
Emily Bloom recorded her first collegiate hit with a pinch hit double, also registering her first RBI on the play. Senior
Nicole Ciricilloalso recorded multiple hits in a 2-for-3 performance at the plate.
The Bombers came out on fire in the first inning of game two, scoring four runs on two hits to jump out to the early lead. With the bases loaded and no outs, Gavin sent a single up the left side to advance all runners and give Ithaca the 1-0 advantage. Senior
Monica Capolongo followed with another single in the next at bat, pushing the Bombers' lead to 2-0. After a wild pitch resulted in another Bomber run, a sacrifice fly from McQuillan capped the inning at 4-0.
Chapman broke its scoring drought with a single run in the bottom of the third inning, putting the score at 4-1 in favor of Ithaca. The Bombers regained their four-run lead in the fourth, thanks to a sacrifice fly from senior
Francesca Busa.
The Panthers then rallied briefly, scoring single runs in the fifth and sixth frames to put the score at 5-3. The Bombers scored two more insurance runs in the seventh, crossing home on three hits to push Ithaca's lead to 7-3. Gavin's second RBI single of the contest accounted for the first run of the frame, before an RBI double from Bloom secured Ithaca's 7-3 victory.
NAZARETH
Nazareth's softball team, competing at the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic, earned its second victory of the season with a 3-1 win over Wilmington on Tuesday morning. Junior
Carly Pike hit an RBI double to tie the score in the top of the fifth inning, then she scored the game-winning run on an error. Earlier on Tuesday, the Golden Flyers fell to Pitt-Bradford 7-2. Junior
Morgan Ross connected on Nazareth's first home run of the season to score the Golden Flyers' runs.
Following Tuesday's games, the Golden Flyers stand at 2-4 overall. Following the loss, Wilmington also stood at 2-4 overall. Pitt-Bradford improved to 3-2 overall with its win over Nazareth.
Trailing 1-0 against Wilmington, Nazareth's rally began with two outs in the top of the fifth. Junior
Maureen Rogers began the rally with a single. Pike connected on a double to right center to score Rogers. Senior
Sophia Rhoades, the Golden Flyers' next batter, reached on an error. The error also allowed Pike to score the eventual game-winning run. With runners in scoring position, Wilmington prevented Nazareth from extending its lead with a force out to close the inning.
The Golden Flyers added an insurance run in the sixth inning when sophomore
Emily Graham scored classmate
Sarah Papponetti with a two-out double to right center. Papponetti reached base with a one-out single to center and scored from first on Graham's double.
The Fightin' Quakers took the lead in the first inning when Megan Warren reached on an error. She advanced to third on Jess Clutter's sacrifice bunt, and Warren scored on the Golden Flyers' second error of the inning.
Sophomore
Nicole White silenced the Wilmington offense for the remainder of the game. White finished with seven strikeouts and allowed only three hits. After committing two errors in the first, Nazareth's defense also settled. They committed one error over the final six innings. Beth Persicano took the loss for Wilmington. She allowed nine hits and three runs, including two earned. She had one strikeout.
The Golden Flyers' runs against Pitt-Bradford came on Ross' second-career homer. Prior to her two-out home run, sophomore
Meghan Barry reached with a double. Ross' two-run shot put Nazareth on the board, but the Golden Flyers' offense were unable to match the Panthers' runs.