Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

PITTSFORD, N.Y. (April 6, 2013) – The Stevens Institute of Technology softball team dropped both games of an Empire 8 Conference doubleheader at St. John Fisher College on Saturday afternoon, falling 8-0 (5 inn.) and 8-0 (6 inn.).

St. John Fisher improves to 11-7 overall and starts Empire 8 play 2-0 while Stevens drops to 2-18 (0-4).

 
St. John Fisher 8, Stevens 0

Game One was a pitcher's duel right from the start, as neither team was able to move a runner past second base until freshman right fielder Kelsey Dempsey (Broomfield, Colo.) singled junior shortstop Danielle DeFeo (Andover, N.J.) over to third base with two outs, where senior catcher Clair Strom (El Paso, Texas) nearly brought her home with a fly out to deep centerfielder.

Senior Molly Herforth (Pompton Plains, N.J.) started to run into some trouble in the bottom of the third inning as the Cardinals loaded the bases with no outs, but a nice catch by Dempsey on a lineout, a high pop up to shortstop and a deep fly out to left-center ended the inning with no damage done.  The Ducks could not get anything going, however, and the floodgates finally broke open in the bottom of the fifth, when St. John Fisher put up eight runs to end the game.

DeFeo and Dempsey were two of four Ducks to record hits in the opening game, along with sophomore first baseman Noelle Mulligan (Staten Island, N.Y.) and senior centerfielder Lauren Hurley (Sparta, N.J.).  Herforth was tagged with only one earned run – when she walked in the Cardinals' first score with the bases loaded – while striking out one over 4.2 innings.

Three Cardinals recorded a pair of hits, led by senior third baseman Kayla Goodberlet (Columbus, Ohio), who went 2-3 with a hit-by-pitch, run, two RBI and a stolen base. Senior designated player Lindsey Holtz (Hamilton, Va.) also impressed, going 1-1 with two walks, a run and one RBI.  Senior Danielle Leone (Manchester, Conn.) evened her record at 4-4 with the shutout, striking out four over five innings.
 

St. John Fisher 8, Stevens 0

Dempsey tried to get things going for the Ducks in Game Two with a two-out double in the top of the first inning, but the Cardinals would score first in the bottom of the frame on a Goodberlet triple to deep right-center.  They almost added another on a sacrifice fly in the next at-bat, but a pinpoint throw by Dempsey got the runner at home to complete the inning-ending double play.  Junior third baseman Stephanie Senkevich (Washington, N.J.) led off the top of the second with a walk, but senior Sarah Stefanon (Perry, N.Y.) was dealing and struck out the next three Ducks, all swinging, to end the inning.

The Cardinals looked ready to score again in the bottom of the second inning as senior first baseman Sarah Fordyce (Jordan, N.Y.), who was unlucky to record only one hit in Game One as she laced four line drives to right field, led off with a single and was followed by another to put runners on first and second base.  Fordyce was thrown out at third on a fielder's choice in the next at-bat, but another single quickly loaded the bases with just one out.  Another fielder's choice caught the runner at home plate, and finally another nice catch by Dempsey on a line drive to right field ended the inning.

The Cardinals would increase their lead just an inning later, though, as Fordyce smashed a two-run home run to straightaway centerfield to go up 3-0.  Stevens almost got on the board in the top of the fourth inning as Senkevich and Mulligan walked and singled, respectively, with two outs, and advanced to second and third base on a wild pitch.  Freshman Oriana DeFeo-Peterson (Patterson, N.Y.) nearly drove them home on a sharp grounder to shortstop, but the throw just beat her to the bag. 

St. John Fisher tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the fourth on a two-run homer by Holtz.  Freshman second baseman Sydney Spitz (Shelton, Conn.) then led off the top of the fifth with a single and moved up to second on a sacrifice bunt that was nearly beaten out by Hurley, but a pair of strikeouts again kept the Ducks off the board. 

The Cardinals added three more runs on another homer in the bottom of the fifth, after which Herforth came on to relieve sophomore Brianna Sandone (Haddon Township, N.J.).  A pair of walks made things interesting, but Herforth got out of the inning thanks to a diving catch by DeFeo in foul territory.  St. John Fisher would score the final run needed on a pair of doubles in the sixth inning to end the game.

Senkevich was a perfect 1-1 with two walks for the Ducks while Sandone took the loss, allowing seven earned runs over 4.2 innings, and Herforth gave up one earned run while recording just one out.

Six Cardinals recorded two hits apiece in game Two, including Holtz, who was 2-2 with a walk and solo homer, and junior centerfielder Jessica D'Angelo (Jamestown, N.Y.), who went 2-3 with a run, three RBI and a home run.  Stefanon struck out 11 hitters while allowing just four hits and three walks over six innings.
 

Head Coach Erica Mehalick and the Ducks will head to Nazareth College (3-11, 1-3) tomorrow, Sunday, April 7 for a 1 p.m. first pitch.  The game will be broadcast via Livestats, which can be accessed here.