Naz Wins Twice; Saxons Split: Bombers Drop Two

Naz Wins Twice; Saxons Split: Bombers Drop Two

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NAZARETH
The Golden Flyers' bats were even more scorching than the sweltering temperatures in Florida on Thursday as Nazareth dominated Mount Mary 10-2 and Bethany Lutheran 10-0 on the Golden Flyers' fourth day of competition at the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic. Senior Sophia Rhoades and sophomore Emily Graham were both 2-3 in each game to lead Nazareth's attack.

With the victories, the Golden Flyers even their record and improve to 4-4 overall. With their respective losses, Mount Mary fell to 2-6 overall, and Bethany Lutheran dropped to 2-4 overall.

Nazareth's offense took advantage of timely hits and opposing teams' miscues to build big leads and take command in the early innings.

In the first inning against Mount Mary, the Golden Flyers had doubles from junior Morgan Ross, Graham, and Rhoades. Ross scored on the double by Graham, and Graham crossed the plate on the two-base hit by Rhoades.

The Golden Flyers used seven hits and took advantage of two Blue Angels' errors to score seven runs in the bottom of the second. Freshman Stephanie Mongelli opened the inning with a single, which was followed by a walk by sophomore Meghan Barry. Classmate Sarah Papponetti pushed Mongelli and Barry across home when she reached on an error. Junior Morgan Ross followed with a two-run homer to stretch Nazareth's lead to 6-0. It was her second home run in as many days.

Graham continued the inning with a double, which was followed by singles by Ross, Rhoades, Cydney Luke, and Mongelli. During the string of hits, Graham and Rogers each recorded runs to extend the Golden Flyers advantage to eight runs. When Barry reached on an error, it allowed Rhoades to also score. Mount Mary prevented further damage by tallying two outs in a row.

The Blue Angels found the scoreboard in the top of the fourth. The first three batters reached base, and Mount Mary scored two runs to cut its deficit to seven runs. Nazareth got out of the inning on consecutive ground balls.

The Golden Flyers ended the game in five innings with run in the bottom of the fifth. After Graham walked and Rogers and Pike each singled to load the bases, Rhoades drew another walk for the eight-run margin.

In addition to being effective in the batter's box, Mongelli was effective on the rubber. She started the game and recorded three strikeouts with one walk and no hits. Junior Danae Wetherbee also saw action and allowed two runs on two hits.

In their game against Bethany Luteran, the Golden Flyers scored eight runs in the bottom of the second. Rhoades, Luke, and Mongelli started the stanza with lead-off singles. Barry and Papponetti both reached on errors to score Rhoades and Luke for Nazareth's first runs. Mongelli was thrown out at home, but the Golden Flyers doubled their lead on single by Graham to score Papponetti and Barry. With two outs, junior Carly Pike reached on an error to score Ross. Similar to earlier in the inning, consecutive singles kept Nazareth's offense churning. Rhoades, Luke, Mongelli, and Barry each singled. On the hits, Graham, Pike and Rhoades crossed the plate.

Pike connected on a lead-off homer in the bottom of the fourth to give Nazareth a 9-0 lead. It was her seventh-career home run. Mongelli scored the Golden Flyers' final run with a two-out triple. She crossed home on a throwing error.

Senior Nicole Bayona earned the win, her second of the season, by scattering five hits in five innings. She recorded six strikeouts. Desiree Becker went the distance for the Vikings. Becker fell to 1-2. In four innings, Nazareth battered her for 12 hits and she had only one strikeout.


ALFRED
Sophomore Sophia Chiavatti (Austin, CA/Foothills) tossed a five-inning no-hitter as the Alfred University softball team split a pair of games Thursday in Tuscon, AZ.
 
Chiavatti allowed just one baserunner, on a fifth-inning walk, as the Saxons topped Crown College, 11-0, in a game stopped after five innings due to the eight-run rule. In Alfred's second game Thursday, the Saxons lost 4-3 in eight innings to the College of Staten Island to fall to 6-2 in the team's 12-game Spring Break trip to Arizona.
 
In her first start of the season, Chiavatti struck out four with only the last-inning walk coming between her and a perfect game. Junior Samantha Jauregui (Lindsay, CA/Lindsay) was 3-for-4 with a homerun, four RBIs and three runs scored and senior Alyson Hampton (Oxnard, CA/Oxnard) was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and three stolen bases to pace the AU offense.
 
Junior Mackenize Miller (Newport, OR/Newport) and freshman Haley Powers (Newark, NJ/St. Georges Tech) (double) each scored two runs, while junior Dana Torchia (Pompton Plains, NJ/Pequannock Twp.) had two RBIs. Junior Jasmine Picini (Alexandria, VA/West Potomac) and sophomore Taylor Sparks (Corning, NY/Corning East) each drove in a run.
 
In the loss to Staten Island, junior Nicole Maher (Newark, DE/Caravel Academy) had a hit and drove in three runs, while sophomore Hannah Lawrence (Spencer, NY/Spencer-Van Etten) was 2-for-3 with a double and a stolen base. Jauregui (2-for-3), sophomore Liz Thompson(Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) and junior Nora Passuite (Lockport, NY/Lockport) each scored a run for the Saxons.


ITHACA
The Ithaca College softball team dropped two games in a doubleheader with Redlands Thursday evening. The Bombers fell to the Bulldogs by a score of 5-4 in game one, before being outscored 7-6 in extra innings in the second game of the day. Ithaca's overall record now sits at 2-4 on the year.

Game 1: Redlands – 5, Ithaca – 4
Junior Laura Quicker started the first contest, pitching 6.0 innings. She allowed seven hits and one earned run while recording five strikeouts. Classmate Allison Macari also saw time in the circle.

Freshman Allie Colleran paced Ithaca with two hits in three at-bats, one of those being a double. Junior Casey Gavin also recorded a double, while freshman Hannah Peters collected a triple for her first collegiate hit.

The Bombers struck first in the opening tilt, taking a 1-0 lead on one hit in the top of the first inning. With one out and Colleran on second base, Gavin sent a double through the left side of the infield to bring home the first run of the game.

Redlands responded with two runs on one hit and one Ithaca error in the bottom of the second, giving the Bulldogs a 2-1 advantage.

The Bombers' bats came to life in the fifth frame, as Ithaca crossed home plate three times on three hits to regain the lead.

With one out and a runner on first, Peters crushed a pinch-hit triple to center field. Peters' first hit as a Bomber brought home the first run of the inning, tying the contest at 2-2. Junior Tara Condonfollowed with another big pinch hit, as she sent a single up the middle in the next at bat to bring Peters home. After stealing second, Condon would score on a fielding error to cap the inning and give Ithaca the 4-2 lead.

Despite Ithaca's offensive output, the Bulldogs tied the contest with two runs on three hits in the bottom of the sixth. The Bombers were unable to score in the top of the final frame, sending the game to the bottom of the seventh tied, 4-4. Redlands made the most of the opportunity with a walk-off home run in the opening at-bat, giving the Bulldogs a 5-4 win in the opening game.

Game 2: Redlands – 7, Ithaca – 6 (8)
Macari was credited with the loss in the second game of the doubleheader after pitching the full 7.1 innings. She allowed five earned runs on 12 hits and recorded four strikeouts.

Senior Francesca Busa had a solid game at the plate with two singles in four at-bats. Junior Kelly Robichaud also had a multi-hit game, going 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI. Senior Nicole Ciricillohit her first home run of the season for the Bombers and picked up two RBI.

After Redlands scored one run in the opening frame, the Bombers evened the contest with Ciricillo's solo home run in the top of the second.

The Bulldogs turned on the offense from that point on, scoring four-straight runs to take a commanding lead on the Bombers. A single run in the second and two runs in the third started the run, before one more run in the fifth pushed Redlands' lead to 5-1.

Trailing by four runs, the Bombers started their rally by scoring twice in the top of the fifth. With the bases loaded and one out, sophomore Jessie Fleck singled through the right side to advance all runners and bring home the first run of the inning. Ciricillo earned a bases-loaded walk in the next at-bat, bringing home another run to put the score at 5-3.

The Bombers tied the contest in the top of the sixth, scoring two runs on two hits. With runners on first and second, Robichaud hit a double to right center field. Robichaud's double brought home both of the Bombers' runs in the frame, tying the contest at 5-5.

Neither team was able to score again in the seventh, sending the game to extra innings. With two runners on and nobody out, Ithaca struck first in the eighth. Busa was able to hit a clutch single to left field with runners on the corners, bringing home a run and putting the Bombers up, 6-5.

Despite Ithaca's comeback, the Bulldogs responded with runs in the bottom of the frame. A bases-loaded single through the right side scored two runs for Redlands, giving the Bulldogs the 7-6 walk-off victory.