Alfred and Ithaca Split: Naz Drops Two
ALFRED
The Alfred University softball team split a pair of contests Monday during the opening day of the Saxons' season-opening spring games in Tuscon, AZ.
In the opener, AU scored five runs in the top of the seventh inning to erase a 3-2 deficit and defeat Southwestern University, 7-3. In the second game, Alfred's last-inning rally came up just short in a 9-8 loss to Baldwin Wallace.
In the opener against Southwestern, AU was led at the plate by sophomore third baseman
Liz Thompson (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads), who was 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored and three RBIs, and junior
Nora Passuite (Lockport, NY/Lockport), who went 2-for-3 with a triple and two runs scored.
Junior second baseman
Dana Torchia (Pompton Plains, NJ/Pequannock Twp.) had a hit and drove in a run; sophomore outfielder
Hannah Lawrence (Spencer, NY/Spencer-Van Etten) had a double and two RBIs; and senior outfielder
Alyson Hampton (Oxnard, CA/Oxnard) scored once and drove in a run. Senior
Samantha Jo Muller (Port Jervis, NY/Port Jervis) and junior
Mackenzie Miller (Newport, OR/Newport) each scored a run.
Freshman
Kerri Keeler (Jamesville, NY/Jamesville-DeWitt) got the pitching start for the Saxons and went three innings, allowing three earned runs on eight hits while striking out three. Freshman
Shannon Schaefer (Neptune, NJ/Westfield) got the win with four innings of hitless relief, striking out five and walking none.
In the second game AU jumped out to a 4-0 lead after two innings before Baldwin Wallace scored five in the top half of the third to take a 5-4 lead. Alfred tied the game with a run in the bottom of the third, but a four-run sixth gave Baldwin Wallace a 9-5 advantage. Two of the Yellowjackets runs in the frame were unearned.
Alfred loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the seventh and scored three times before the game ended with the potential tying run on second.
Senior
Alison Wickwire (Towanda, PA/Towanda) went 2-for-3 with a homerun, three RBIs and two runs scored to lead AU. Torchia and Thompson each had two hits (including a double) with two runs scored and one driven in.
Junior
Jasmine Picini (Alexandria, VA/West Potomac) had an RBI double; Lawrence hit a double; and junior shortstop
Nicole Maher (Newark, DE/Caravel Academy) and Passuite each drove in a run.
Wickwire took the pitching loss for the Saxons, going the distance and allowing nine runs (seven earned) on 10 hits while striking out eight over seven innings.
ITHACA
The Ithaca College softball team opened its 2015 season with a split against La Verne Monday evening, picking up a 4-2 win in game one before falling 7-1 in the day's second contest. The split puts the Bombers' overall record at 1-1 on the young season.
Game 1: Ithaca - 4, La Verne - 2
Junior
Laura Quicker earned the complete game victory for the Bombers in game one. She allowed just two earned runs on seven hits and recorded four strikeouts without giving up a walk. Freshman
Allie Colleran paced Ithaca with two hits in four at bats, while junior
Kelly Robichaud picked up a double in a 1-for-3 performance at the plate.
The Bombers scored the first two runs of the game in the top of the second, giving Ithaca the early advantage. With one out and runners at second and third, senior
Nina Lindberg sent a shot to center field to advance both runners and give Ithaca a 1-0 advantage. Sophomore
Jessie Fleckgrounded to first in the following at bat to bring home the runner at third and secure Ithaca's second run of the game.
La Verne responded with a run in the bottom of the second, cutting the Bombers' lead to 2-1.
It didn't take long for Ithaca to add to its lead, as the Bombers scored two more runs on two hits in the top of the third. With two runners on, junior
Erin McQuillan hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Colleran from third and put the Bombers up, 3-1. Freshman
Marissa Smith followed with a single to left field, scoring junior
Casey Gavin from second to push Ithaca's lead to 4-1.
Although the Leopards were able to add a run in the fourth, Ithaca's pitching and defense took over from there. Quicker held La Verne off the board for the remainder of the contest, securing a 4-2 win for the Bombers.
Game 2: La Verne – 7, Ithaca – 1
Junior
Allison Macari was credited with the loss in game two after giving up six earned runs on nine hits in 5.1 innings of work. Macari also picked up four strikeouts, and allowed just two walks. Freshman
Payton Cutting saw her first collegiate action in the circle, as she recorded the final two outs for Ithaca. Robichaud led the Bombers offensively, going 2-for-3 with a double and a home run.
The Leopards came out swinging in the second game of the twin bill, scoring the first two runs of the contest in the bottom of the first. La Verne added to its lead with three more runs in the third, putting the score at 5-0 in favor of the Leopards. Single runs in the fifth and sixth frame pushed La Verne's lead to 7-0.
Robichaud got the Bombers on the board with a solo home run in the top of the seventh, putting the score at 7-1. Ithaca was unable to score again in the contest, giving La Verne the 7-1 victory.
NAZARETH
The Golden Flyers continued their action in the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic in Florida Monday morning. Nazareth dropped a 6-4 contest to Dominican in eight innings then fell to Wooster by the score of 3-2. Following the losses, the Golden Flyers stand at 1-3 overall, and Dominican and Wooster improve to 3-1 and 4-0, respectively.
Nazareth scored in the opening innings in both games, but the Golden Flyers committed costly errors in both contests to allow Dominican and Wooster to rally.
Against Dominican, junior
Morgan Ross reached base in the first after drawing a walk, then she moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Graham. Ross gave the Golden Flyers the lead by crossing the plate on an error. Senior
Sophia Rhoades continued the inning with a double to move junior
Carly Pike to third. The inning ended with a ground out before the Golden Flyers could extend their lead.
After the Stars tied the game on a fielding error in the bottom of the first, Nazareth reclaimed its lead with a pair of runs in the top of the second. Sophomore
Nicole White doubled and later scored on an error, and classmate
Meghan Barry reached on an error and scored on a single by
Sarah Papponetti. Later in the inning, Papponetti was thrown out at home trying to extend the Golden Flyers' lead to three runs.
Dominican scored to runs in the top of the fifth to tie the game for the second time. The Stars began the inning with a pair of singles. Both runners advanced on a sacrifice bunt, and they scored on a single by Kaitlin Barajas. In the bottom of the inning, Nazareth took its third lead of the game after junior
Cydney Luke singled home
Maureen Rogers. Rhoades also had a single in the inning to advance Rogers on the bases.
Nazareth held the Stars off the board until the seventh inning. Following a strikeout, Sara Hausl singled. She advanced to second on a wild pitch, and tried to score on a single by Alyssa Domico, but she was thrown out at the plate by Graham. On the play, however, Domico advanced to second. Domico scored moments later on a double by Barajas. Dominican took its first lead in the top of the eighth when they had a pair of runs score on a two-out single by Kaitlyn Tripp. The Golden Flyers also hurt themselves with errors on the play.
Nazareth had runners in scoring position in the seventh and eighth innings, but the Golden Flyers were unable to rally. Rogers and Pike each had a two-out single in the seventh, but a strikeout by Luke ended the threat. In the eighth, Nazareth had runners on second and third with one out, but neither Papponetti nor Ross could push the runners home.
White ended up taking the loss as she allowed 10 hits and six runs, including four earned. The sophomore also recorded seven strikeouts. Nazareth roughed up Dominican's starter Siena Gyure, who lasted only one inning and allowed three runs. Michelle Behrens recorded the win in relief. She allowed five hits and one Nazareth run while striking out four.
Against Wooster, both teams scored a run in the first and second innings. For Nazareth, Ross singled in the first and advanced to second on a bunt by Graham. She eventually scored on an illegal pitch. In the second inning, Rhoades was hit by a pitch to reach first. She moved to second and third on a pair of illegal pitches. Barry pushed Rhoades home on a fielder's choice.
The Fighting Scots answered in the bottom of the first by taking advantage of Nazareth errors. Paige Goldberg reached on an error and moved to second on another one. She scored on an RBI single, however, the Golden Flyers prevented another run from scoring with a relay from Barry and Papponetti to Rhoades. In the second, Georgia Hill singled to center to open the inning. Senior
Nicole Bayona struck out the next two Wooster batters, but Hill advanced to third on two passed balls. She scored the game-tying run on a single.
The game remained knotted until the the bottom of the fifth. To begin the inning, Linea Brouse singled up the middle, and she reached third on a two-base error. The next batter flied out to right, but it was deep enough to score Brouse.
Similar to its first game on Monday, Nazareth had runners in scoring position in the closing innings, but were unable to rally. Two runners reached second in the top of the sixth, and Barry reached third in the seventh before the Fighting Scots recorded the final out.
Bayona took the loss as she allowed three runs on six hits. She also had three strikeouts. Maddy Chase pitched the final five innings to earn the win. She allowed Nazareth only two hits in her relief appearance.