WEEHAWKEN, N.J. (May 4, 2019) – The top-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology softball team fell to #2 St. John Fisher College in the first game of the day before being topped by third-seeded Alfred University in 11 innings and knocked out of the Empire 8 Conference tournament.
The Ducks end the 2019 campaign with a record of 22-19. The Cardinals and the Saxons enter tomorrow's championship game with records of 25-14 and 22-19, respectively.
Game One vs. #2 St. John Fisher (L, 3-2)
Senior
Marissa Cappello fell to 12-5 as she gave up the winning run in her 4.1 innings in the circle. Emily Trotman (21-8) pitched a complete game with four strikeouts to earn the win.
The Cardinals scored the first run when Ashley Prince recorded her first RBI of the game with a base hit to left field in the top of the third. Junior
Samantha Schattin and freshman
Meg Halloran each hit a single in the bottom of the inning with just one out to give the Ducks a chance to score, but a fly out by junior
Gina DeOliveira and groundout by senior
Katie Tirabassi ended the frame.
Prince attacked once again in the fifth inning when she homered with Maddy Pepke on first to give Fisher a 3-0 edge. In the bottom of the inning, Schattin and Halloran both collected base hits to give Stevens another chance to score. Halloran then became caught in a run down, which allowed Schattin to round the bases and put the Ducks on the board before the freshman was tagged out at second.
Stevens cut the lead to one run in the bottom of the seventh when junior
Victoria Kapp scored on a bounce out by Schattin, marking the second out of the inning. Halloran then followed with a line drive out to center field, but it was snagged by Julia Sortisio to end the game.
Game Two vs. #3 Alfred (L, 3-2 / 11 innings)
Cappello (12-6) and senior
Christine LaRochelle split time in the circle, pitching 5.2 and 5.0 innings, respectively. The two pitchers combined for 10 strikeouts to help keep the Saxons from scoring. Jessica Wilcox (17-9) earned the win with her five strikeouts in 8.2 innings.
The first four innings were a pitcher's duel as neither team was able to get on the board. DeOliveira brought in the first run in the top of the fifth with an RBI single. Alfred answered in the bottom of the inning when Kelley Staub scored on an error.
Pinch runner
Lexi Gregule put the Ducks in the lead as she scored on a passed ball in the sixth inning, only for Lu Krawczyk to hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning to give the Saxons a one-run advantage.
With the bases loaded in the top of the seventh, junior
Melissa Alfonso hit a sac-fly that allowed Schattin to score the tying run. The Stevens defense then recorded three quick outs to send the game into extra innings.
The following three innings became another pitcher's duel, only seeing one hit from Halloran. After Alfred recorded three quick outs on defense, Allison O'Toole was put on first after being hit by a pitch in the bottom of the 11th. Krawczyk followed with a sac-bunt to put the runner in scoring position before Tati Mejia delivered the fateful hit up the middle that brought in O'Toole for the walk-off single to send the Saxons to tomorrow's championships.
Inside the Numbers
- Halloran went 4-for-8 at the plate across the two games.
- DeOliveira led the Ducks with three hits in the second game.
- Senior Julia DeCandia hit her first double of the year in game two.
- Schattin stole two bases in the first game and Halloran snagged one in the second.
Up Next
- Be sure to check StevensDucks.com during the off-season for any updates related to softball.
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