GLENSIDE, Pa. (March 23, 2017) – Sophomore
Christine LaRochelle fired a three-hit, complete-game shutout in game one, senior
Amanda DiLeo drove in the go-ahead run with a two-out, seventh-inning double, as the Stevens Institute of Technology softball team swept Arcadia University (4-0, 6-5) Thursday.
Empire 8 and ECAC Division III Metro Player of the Week
Lauren Shirley totaled five hits and senior
Emily Sellitti drove in a pair of runs for the Ducks who improved to 10-4.
Kristin Cancelliere had a pair of runs batter in for Arcadia, who fell to 8-4.
"We played two solid games," head coach
Erica Mehalick said. "No matter what the score was, we stuck to our game plan. We played solid defense, pitched well and strung hits together when we needed them."
The Stevens victories spoiled Arcadia's home opener.
Stevens 4 Arcadia 0
In the day's opener, LaRochelle (5-2) was the story, scattering just three hits and striking out nine to earn her third consecutive victory.
The Ducks provided the left-hander with all of the offense she'd need with a two-run third inning. Junior
Marissa Barnes led off with a single to center and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Senior
Gina Schnecker singled to left and advanced to second when Kayla Resh threw home to prevent Barnes from scoring.
With a pair of runners in scoring position, Sellitti smacked a Kylee Schwind (4-2) offering into left center to score Barnes and Schnecker. Junior Faryl Groder sacrificed the Stevens third baseman to third.
Corinne Loncar followed with a run-scoring single to push the lead to 3-0.
Arcadia had its best to chance to score in the fifth after the first three batters reached to load the bases, but LaRochelle buckled down and recorded the first out as Kaylee Zarick on a fielder's choice. The Stevens starter induced a lineout from Marissa Mancinelli for the second out and escaped the fifth when Jackie Bilotti grounded out to Shirley, leaving the bases full.
Stevens added an insurance run on junior
Olivia Gemma's sixth-inning sacrifice fly.
Stevens 6 Arcadia 5
In the nightcap, DiLeo doubled to right center field, scoring Shirley and Groder, to give Stevens a 6-5, come-from-behind victory over the Knights.
Sophomore
Marissa Cappello (2-2) pitched two innings to earn the victory.
Mary Pat Murray (3-1) pitched a complete game for Arcadia, allowing all six runs on 13 hits in suffering her first loss of the season.
The Ducks jumped out to a first-inning lead when Shirley connected for an RBI double off Murray.
After being shut out for the first eight innings of the afternoon, Arcadia finally broke through against Stevens pitching in the second. Nicole Iasiello led off with a double off starter
Olivia Gemma. Resh sacrificed the second baseman to third. After Bekah Good grounded out to first, Julia Gessner doubled down the left field line to drive in the first Arcadia run.
The Knights would grab their first lead of the afternoon in the second when Cancelliere poked a double down the line, scoring Bilotti to give Arcadia a 2-1 edge. Arcadia would again go on top by a run in the fifth on Tori Zangrilli's RBI single. With the teams knotted at 4 after
Samantha Schattin's RBI single, Arcadia appeared to be in position to force a split of the doubleheader when Iasiello blasted a Cappello pitch over the wall for her first home run of the season.
Trailing by a run, Groder led off with a single and moved to third on Shirley's one-out double. After Cappello struck out, DiLeo played hero with a long double off Murray, scoring both runners to give the Ducks a 6-5 lead.
Cappello recorded three strikeouts in the bottom of the seventh to close out the sweep/.
Up Next: Stevens heads down to Galloway, New Jersey for a Saturday doubleheader with Stockton University on Mar. 25. First pitches scheduled for 1 and 3:00 p.m.
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