Atkins, Duffany Help Saints Earn Split With Skidmore
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Tara FreemanRachel Duffany '11 allowed only two earned runs on seven hits against Skidmore.
May 2: St. Lawrence University junior outfielder Amy Atkins had her best offensive day of the season on Saturday, as the Westerlo, NY native finished 5-for-6 at the plate with three runs scored to help the Saints' softball team earn a split with Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY. Skidmore claimed the opening game of the doubleheader 2-1, while sophomore pitcher Rachel Duffany anchored the Saints to a 4-2 win in game two.
The split snaps St. Lawrence's nine-game losing streak and moves the team to 5-23 (1-5) on the season. Skidmore is 20-13 on the year but is also 1-5 in Liberty League play.
Sophomore pitcher Meg Goodemote continued to pitch well enough to win, but got little run support in the opening game. Goodemote struck out Jamie Rubin in the bottom of the first inning with the bases loaded to escape the jam and keep the game scoreless. The key out seemed to settle in the Queensbury, NY native, as she allowed only no runs and only one hit throughout the next three innings.
With Goodemote looking strong on the mound, the Saints took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning. After Atkins led off the inning with a single, she moved to second when senior Emilie Lannamann was hit by a pitch from Skidmore hurler Sam Crose. Senior Lilah Brown then delivered a two-out RBI single to put the Scarlet and Brown ahead.
Skidmore would finally get to Goodemote in the bottom of the fifth inning to tie the score at 1-1. Michelle Anderson and Lauren Bernstein each singled to put the tying run in scoring position, then Charlotte Evans came through with a key two-out RBI single to knot the score.
After St. Lawrence went down in order in the top half of the sixth, Skidmore took the lead for good on a leadoff homerun by Caitlin Ketcham to centerfield to put the Thoroughbreds up 2-1. Though Lannamann would single off of Crose to lead off the top of the seventh, the Saints were unable to manufacture the tying run as they dropped their ninth straight game.
Goodemote suffered the loss and fell to 0-14 on the year, despite allowing only six hits, two runs and one walk. Crose got the win and moved to 18-9 having allowed only one run on four hits, while striking out an impressive 13 St. Lawrence hitters.
Despite the narrow loss, St. Lawrence came out swinging confidently in game two and built a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning on four hits against Crose. Sophomore Melissa Rogers, Atkins and junior Molly Swan delivered consecutive hits, with Swan's two-run double giving the Saints the early lead. Swan would later score on an RBI single by Brown for the 3-0 cushion.
Though Skidmore would come right back with two runs on one hit and one error in the bottom of the first, those would be the only scores the Thoroughbreds would put up against Duffany. The home team stranded seven base-runners in the contest, while Duffany struck out four hitters to earn the win and improve to 5-9 on the year.
St. Lawrence also had their chances to put the game well out of reach, as they tacked on an insurance run in the third on a sac fly by Swan to bring the score to 4-2. The Scarlet and Brown also loaded the bases in both the sixth and seventh innings, but could not push a run across to extend their lead. However, Duffany proved to be clutch down the stretch, as she retired the Thoroughbreds in order in the seventh to snap the Saints' skid.
Atkins was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate in game two, while Swan was 1-for-3 with two RBI's. Crose suffered the loss for Skidmore after allowing 10 hits and four earned runs.
The Saints will conclude the 2009 season tomorrow, Sunday, May 3 with a doubleheader against Union College in Schenectady, NY at 1:00pm.