WEEHAWKEN, N.J. (April 7, 2017) – Sophomore
Christine LaRochelle scattered five hits over seven innings, junior
Olivia Gemma homered and drove in four runs, and No. 22 Stevens Institute of Technology softball split an Empire 8 Conference doubleheader with Alfred University Friday.
Freshman
Samantha Schattin collected four hits and drove in a pair for the Ducks, who closed play with a 17-9 record and a 4-2 mark in conference play.
Senior Liz Thompson and freshman Elena Ceja homered for Alfred, who moved to 11-7 on the season and 3-1 in Empire 8 play.
No. 22 Stevens 3 Alfred 1
In the day's opener,
Christine LaRochelle limited Alfred to an unearned run and
Corinne Loncar and
Samantha Schattin collected first-inning RBI singles as the Ducks upended the Saxons, 3-1.
Haley Powers plated the lone Alfred run.
After Powers' first-inning single gave Alfred an early lead, the Ducks responded with a pair of runs off Shannon Schaefer (4-2).
Emily Sellitti led off with a single through the left side and moved to second after
Farryl Groder was hit by a pitch. Loncar tied the game on a single to right center, scoring Sellitti from second. After
Olivia Gemma popped out to short and
Cara Napolitano grounded out, Schattin connected for an infield single to score Groder from third.
Given a two-run lead to work with, LaRochelle (8-3) took care of the rest. The left-handed pitcher struck out six and didn't allow a baserunner past first after the second. LaRochelle's eight wins rank second in the conference and her 55 strikeouts are third.
Gemma added a fifth-inning solo home run to close out the scoring.
Alfred 7 No. 22 Stevens 5
In game two,
Samantha Schattin delivered a seventh-inning, two-run single, but the Ducks were unable to complete the doubleheader sweep, falling to the Saxons, 7-5.
Olivia Gemma drove in three runs and
Emily Sellitti scored twice, but Stevens was unable to rally in the final inning after Alfred scored four times in the sixth to snap a 3-3 tie.
Mandy Shaffer worked a one-out walk of
Marissa Cappello (4-5) to begin the rally. Elena Ceja singled through the left side. Hannah Lawrence reached on a fielder's choice. Becca Alexander connected for a long double to center, scoring a pair of runs to give Alfred the lead. Kelley Staub added a two-RBI triple to push the Alfred advantage to 7-3.
Stevens had taken a 2-1 lead in the third on Gemma's run-scoring single, but Kerri Keeler (2-4), struck out Schattin with two runners on to end the threat.
Ceja and Liz Thompson homered for Alfred.
Up Next: The Ducks close out the weekend by welcoming Houghton College to Weehawken. Game times are scheduled for 2 and 4 pm and Stevens softball will recognize the Class of 2017 in between games. A fan bus will depart from Jonas thirty minutes before each game.
Facebook: "Like" Stevens Athletics
Twitter: @stevensducks
Instagram: @stevensducks
Snapchat: ducks_athletics