HOWRIGAN EARNS ALL CONFERENCE HONOR

May 11: Senior Bekah Howrigan was named an All-Liberty League Honorable Mention in voting by the league’s coaches. She batted .333 for the year, and started every game in the middle infield for the Saints. She added 20 runs, 11 RBI's, and led the team in doubles. Howrigan was a perfect 10-10 in stolen bases, and recorded an impressive .927 % in the field in her senior campaign. For her career, Howrigan batted .333 and finishes as the St. Lawrence career leader in putouts.

SAINTS FIGHT HARD, BUT FALL TO UNION

Apr. 30: The St. Lawrence softball team lost twice to Union Sunday afternoon, 10-5 and 8-0, to finish the season 9-23 overall and 2-6 in the Liberty League. With the wins, Union moves to 25-5 overall, and 3-3 in conference.

In the first game, Union jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead in the first inning on six hits and an error. They scattered runs through the rest of the game to up their total to ten by the end of seven innings. Ava Pickering took the loss for the Saints on the mound. Abby Arceneaux earned the win for Union.

The Saints fought back hard, retaliating with runs of their own in three innings, but it would not be enough to hold off the Union offense. Arceneaux walked three Saints and gave up a hit in the fourth, to allow St. Lawrence to score two earned runs. The Saints added three more hits in the fifth from Emilie Lannamann, Bekah Howrigan, and Nicole Bottego to score two more runs. St. Lawrence added another run in the sixth, but the game would end with the final score of 10-5 Dutchwomen.

The Saints would not keep up the offensive momentum into the second game, and failed to score in five innings. Janelle Graves pitched for the Saints, giving up eight hits. Jackie Coffey earned the win for the Dutchwomen.

After a quick first inning where the Saints retired the first three batters, Union opened up for a three run second inning and a two run third inning. They added three more insurance runs to make it 8-0, and end the game after five innings.

SAINTS TAKE TWO CONFERENCE GAMES FROM THOROUGHBREDS

Apr. 29: The St. Lawrence softball team beat visiting Skidmore twice today at Saints Field in a Liberty League match-up. In two exciting games that would keep fans guessing until the seventh innings, the Saints came up victorious in both affairs, topping Skidmore 6-5 in the first game and 11-10 in the second. With the wins, St. Lawrence moves to 9-21 overall, and 2-4 in conference. Skidmore falls to 11-23 overall, and 0-4 in league.

Junior Ava Pickering pitched the first seven innings, and earned the complete game win. The Thoroughbreds got on the board first in the third inning when a Saints error put Shaila Delea on base. St. Lawrence walked two batters that inning, and Emily Turek came up with the RBI to give Skidmore the lead.

St. Lawrence answered right back with a leadoff hit from Krista Chadwick. Senior Rebekah Howrigan earned the RBI when she tripled to the centerfield wall to score Chadwick.

The score continued to go back and forth throughout the game, and the Saints were up 6-3 heading into the top of the seventh. Skidmore produced three hits, two walks, and two runs before the home team could close the door and edge a 6-5 win.

For the Thoroughbreds, Chloe Carden earned two hits and run. Turek and Sasha Diamond-Lenow batteed three-for-four with a double and a run a piece. Sarah Stehouwer pitched the complete game for Skidmore.

In the second contest, St. Lawrence struck first, scoring Pittelli in the first inning on a sacrifice fly from Howrigan. Nicole Bottego started the bottom of the second with a double and was batted around on hits from Andrea Muszynski and Yralee Mendez.

Saints added a big four run fourth inning, and another three run sixth inning, but the Thoroughbreds would fight back. Skidmore scattered runs throughout the game, then countered with back-to-back three-run innings in the sixth and seventh to tie the game at 10-10 and push the Saints to the plate in the bottom of the seventh.

Pittelli began the seventh with a hit, and Emilie Lannamann came up next and drove a base hit up the middle, moving Pittelli to second. An error moved Pittelli to third base, and Lilah Brown came up big and knocked Pittelli in for the win.

Janelle Graves pitched the complete game win for St. Lawrence. For the game, Pittelli batted two-for-three and scored three times. Lannamann was two-for-two with a run. Brown finished the game three-for-five with a double and two runs and three RBIs. Bottego batted two-for-four with a double. Muszynski finished three-for-four with a double to the left field wall, and Mendez batted two-for-three with a double.

Stehouwer took the loss for Skidmore. For the Thoroughbreds, Gillian Connell batted two-for-four with a triple. Megan Braucher hit two doubles. Emily Turek went three-for-four with three runs scored. Jamie Rubin hit a double and scored twice. Sasha Diamond-Lenow went three-for-four with a triple and two runs scored, and Jessica Bergen hit two-for-four.

The Saints will close out their season Sunday, April 30 th at home in a double-header against Union. The Liberty League match-up will begin at noon.

SAINTS SPLIT WITH POTSDAM

Apr. 27: The St. Lawrence softball team split a double-header with Potsdam State Thursday afternoon in Potsdam, winning the first game 6-3, and dropping the second 6-5. With the split, the Saints move to 7-21 for the year; Potsdam advances to 6-21.

In the first game, St. Lawrence scored in five of seven innings and plated 6 runs. Junior Yralee Mendez drove her first collegiate homerun over the left field wall in the top of the sixth inning to make it 5-1 Saints. She was 2 for 4 in the contest with a double and 4 RBI’s. First year Katie Dreher hit 2 for 4 as well, and scored a run. Ava Pickering pitched the complete game win for St. Lawrence and struck out 6.

The second game was a hard fought match by both teams. Potsdam scored two runs in the first inning and added one more in both the second and fourth innings to make it 4-0 Bears going into the fifth. St. Lawrence was up to the challenge and knocked in four runs on their own to tie it in the top of the fifth.

Sheila Rodriguez started the inning for the Saints by getting on with an error. Melissa Pittelli then beat out and infield single and moved Rodriguez to second. Emilie Lannamann then got on with an error and the bases were loaded. Potsdam committed another error on a ground ball from Lilah Brown that scored Rodriguez. Pittelli then scored on a passed ball to bring the Saints within two. Another error scored Lannamann, and Dreher drove in the last Saints run of the inning. With another bases loaded situation, the Saints could not push any more and the game was knotted at four runs apiece.

In the top of the seventh inning, St. Lawrence broke the tie with an Andrea Muszynski infield single. Mendez moved her to second, and another error would score the go-ahead run.

The Saints failed to hold on in the bottom of the seventh, as Potsdam earned four hits and pushed two runs to win the game.

St. Lawrence will finish their season with home games against Skidmore and Union. The Saints will face Skidmore in a double-header on Saturday, April 29 th at 1:00pm. Union will come to town for a double-header Sunday, April 30 th at 12:00pm.

SAINTS DROP TWO LEAGUE GAMES

April 24: The St. Lawrence softball team lost twice to Rochester Monday afternoon to fall to 6-20 for the year, and 0-4 in league play. Rochester moved to 20-14 with the wins, and 5-1 in conference.

Janelle Graves was on the mound in the first game, and could not silence the Yellowjacket bats as they earned 11 hits. Sophomore Emilie Lannamann earned the only Saints hit in the game, and the home team would go on to win 10-0.

In the second game, the Rochester bats remained hot as they belted 14 hits and scored 11 runs. Ava Pickering started the game for the Saints, and was relieved by Graves in the fourth inning. St. Lawrence began to mount a comeback in the fifth inning, but could not push enough across to save the game.

First year Jessica Young started the fifth with a homerun, then Yralee Mendez and Melissa Pittelli both singled to keep the inning alive. Lannamann came up next and drove a base hit up the middle that scored Mendez. Senior Bekah Howrigan then doubled down the left field line to score Pittelli, and Lilah Brown walked, but the Saints could not convert with bases loaded and ended up losing 11-3.

St. Lawrence will be back in action Thursday, April 27th at Potsdam for a double-header. The games will start at 3:30pm.

HERBERGER DOMINATES SAINTS IN 5-0 WIN

April 23: Pitcher Amanda Herberger allowed just three hits, all singles and struck out 17 in leading St. John Fisher to a 5-0 win over St. Lawrence in the first game of a scheduled doubleheader at St. John Fisher Sunday afternoon.

The second game was cancelled due to a hailstorm.

Fisher jumped out to a 3-0 first inning lead and tacked on two more runs in the fifth against Saint starter Ava Pickering. Janelle Graves pitched a scoreless sixth, striking out two for the Saints.

Katie Botkins had two doubles, scored two runs and drove in two runs while Amana Novitske also had two hits for Fisher which improved to 27-8 on the season.

Emilie Lannamann, Rebekah Howrigan and Lilah Brown each singled for the Saints, who will take a 6-18 overall record into a Liberty League doubleheader at Rochester on Monday.

SAINTS SPLIT AT HOME

Apr. 19: The St. Lawrence softball team took one game from Hamilton 4-2 and surrendered the other 7-6 Wednesday at home in a double-header, bringing their record to 6-17 overall, 0-2 in conference. Hamilton moves to 2-18 for the year.

In the nightcap, the Saints came back from a 2-0 deficit in the third inning. Katie Dreher leadoff the inning with a triple, and scored on a single from Yralee Mendez. Junior Melissa Pittelli was three for three for the game and moved Mendez over with a single. Senior Bekah Howrigan came up next, and doubled to score Mendez. After a sac fly from Lilah Brown scored Pittelli, Nicole Bottego singled to drive in the Saints final run.

Howrigan batted two for three in the contest. First year Janelle Graves picked up her first collegiate win on the mound, striking out five in six innings.

In the first game, St. Lawrence gave up a 6-3 lead in the top of the seventh on three hits and two Saint errors. Ava Pickering took the loss for the Saints in the circle. For the game, St. Lawrence left nine runners on base.

Pittelli hit three for four with a double in the opener, and Brown was four for four. Howrigan, Emilie Lannamann, and Andrea Muszynski batted two for four in the contest.

The Saints will head south this weekend to face Rochester on Saturday and St. John Fisher on Sunday. Both start times are scheduled for 1:00pm.

SAINTS SUFFER FIRST TWO LIBERTY LEAGUE LOSSES

Apr. 15 – After playing late into the night on Friday evening, the Saints were not able to rebound Saturday afternoon dropping both games of a Liberty League double-header to Rensselaer, 5-0 and 10-0.

Junior pitcher Ava Pickering started her third and fourth games in two days, after two Saints pitchers suffered injuries this past week. Pickering allowed seven hits in the opening game, and the top of the Red Hawk order came up big, scoring all five runs.

RPI’s Michelle Street stifled the Saints bats, giving up two hits in the game, one to senior Rebekah Howrigan and the other to junior Melissa Pittelli.

In the second game of the twin bill, fatigue overcame Pickering as the Red Hawks scored 10 runs on 12 hits. The Saints could not counter, as they notched two hits off the bats of sophomores Emilie Lannamann and Nicole Bottego.

The Saints are now 5-16 overall, and 0-2 in league play. St. Lawrence is back on the field on Wednesday against Hamilton in a doubleheader at 4pm at home.

SAINTS SWEEP RUSSELL SAGE

Apr. 14: The St. Lawrence softball team beat Russell Sage twice on Friday night in rainy conditions to move to 5-14 for the year. The Saints topped Sage 15-8 in the first game, and 11-2 in the nightcap.

Ava Pickering started the first game for St. Lawrence, pitching until the fifth inning and coming back in the seventh and eighth and gave up only four hits. Sara Clark pitched the fifth and sixth innings for SLU, and notched two strikeouts.

The Saints had a 2-1 lead going into the fifth, then scored five to give themselves a comfortable lead. The comfort was short-lived as Sage came back and scored five of their own. SLU answered with one in the sixth, but again Russell Sage countered, this time with two to tie the game at 8 and force extra innings. In the eighth, the Saints slammed the door with seven unanswered runs.

Melissa Pittelli ended up 4 of 6 for the game, Emilie Lannamann hit 3 of 4 times at the plate, and Nicole Bottego went 3 of 6 with a double. Most impressive, first year Lilah Brown hit 5 of 6. Also notable, Bekah Howrigan doubled, and Pickering tripled in the effort.

In the second game, the Saints made their point early, scoring three runs in the second, and adding five in the third. Because of the mercy rule, the game only went five innings thanks to a fifth inning, two run homerun from Brown.

For the nightcap, Andrea Muszynski hit 3 of 4, and Howrigan hit 3 of 4 with a double.

The Saints will meet RPI tomorrow on the road for a double-header starting at 1:00pm.

SAINTS DROP DOUBLE-HEADER TO PLATTSBURGH

Apr. 12: The St. Lawrence softball team fell to Plattsburgh State twice at home to move to 3-14 for the year. With the wins, the Cardinals advance to 19-7 overall.

Ava Pickering pitched the complete first game and notched five strikouts, only giving up one earned run. The Saints’ bats were quiet throughout the game, and the home team only had two base runners with Rebekah Howrigan getting hit by a pitch, and Katie Dreher forcing an error.

St. Lawrence retired the first nine batters in three innings before allowing an unearned run in the fourth. Plattsburgh earned a run in the sixth to make it 2-0 on a base hit by Ashley Shannon and a double from Shannon Connors.

Stephanie Zweig pitched for Plattsburgh and struck out 11 Saints batters, earning the no-hitter. For the game, the Cardinals picked up 4 hits, pushing two runs to end the game with a victory.

In the second game, St. Lawrence was able to earn two hits, but it would not be enough to combat Plattsburgh’s offense. The Cardinals produced 12 hits in seven innings to close the door 9-0 on St. Lawrence.

Pickering started the game for the Saints, and Kelsey Austin came in to pitch in the middle of the fourth inning, but it would not stop the offensive production. Jaclyn Leitz pitched the second game for the Cardinals, striking out 14 and earning the win.

The Saints will travel to Russell Sage for a double header on Friday, April 14 th at 4:00pm.

PICKERING SHINES IN WIN, SAINTS

DROP FIRST DECISION TO MITCHELL

Apr. 2: Ava Pickering smacked a base clearing triple in the top of the seventh inning to lift the St. Lawrence softball team to a come from behind win over the Soaring Eagles of Elmira. With the win, St. Lawrence finished 2-2 for the weekend, after losing earlier in the day to Mitchell College.

The Saints entered the seventh down by two runs and facing defeat, but Nicole Bottego and Lilah Brown led off the inning with back-to-back singles to give St. Lawrence a chance. Andrea Muszynski singled to load the bases, then Pickering drove a shot that hit the base of the left field wall to clear the bases and give the Saints the 3-2 lead. Melissa Pittelli then capped the inning with another single to give the visiting Saints a two run cushion.

Elmira scored both of their runs in the fourth inning on two hits and two errors. For the game, Elmira notched eight hits to St. Lawrence’s seven. Pickering, who also pitched a complete game, struck out seven in the effort. Sarah Slivinski pitched all seven innings for the Soaring Eagles and earned 10 strike outs.

In the first game, the Saints opened the game with two runs in the first on hits from Pittelli, Bekah Howrigan, and Brown. Mitchell would respond in the second inning by plating four runs, thanks in large part to a Liz Roy triple which brought in three runs. Mitchell added a run in the top of the third to take a five to two lead.

The Saints were able to close the gap with two runs on three hits, but Mitchell responded in the fourth with four runs. St. Lawrence committed two errors, setting up a homerun by Kristen Bartolucci to give the Pequots a 9-4 lead.

Mitchell added four runs, and the Saints were able to push one run across in the fifth, but it would not be enough.

Pittelli, Howrigan, and Bottego belted two hits a piece, and Howrigan came across the plate three times in the loss. Janelle Graves took the loss for St. Lawrence. Kelsey Austin came in to relieve Graves in the fourth.

The Saints will be back in action on Tuesday, April 4 th at Potsdam for a doubleheader at 4:00pm. They will enter this week with a record of 3-12.

SAINTS DEFEAT MITCHELL 11-3,

FALL TO ELMIRA 3-0

Apr. 1: The St. Lawrence softball team bested Mitchell College Saturday afternoon 11-3, behind a strong pitching effort from Ava Pickering. However, the Saints used up all their runs in the first game, and fell to Elmira 3-0 on the Soaring Eagles’ home field.

St. Lawrence started the scoring early against Mitchell, plating two runs in the first inning. Melissa Pittelli led off with a walk, and was advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Emilie Lannamann. Senior Bekah Howrigan singled to bump Pittelli to third, and then promptly stole second base. First year Lilah Brown completed the inning with a base clearing double.

In the second inning, Yralee Mendez and Krista Chadwick both walked and were moved over on a hit to the right side of the infield from Pittelli. Lannamann then delivered with a two run double.

A big fifth inning would seal the deal for St. Lawrence and produce enough runs to end the game early. The Saints belted five hits and added a walk to score six runs.

For the game, Mendez scored three times on two walks and a hit. Chadwick scored twice on two walks and added a sacrifice bunt. Brown, Howrigan, and Nicole Bottego picked up two hits a piece.

In the second game, the Saints offense fell quiet, as they were only able to scatter three hits and two walks.

The Saints created chances to score, as twice Pittelli earned hits and was advanced to second base, but St. Lawrence could not push the runs across the plate. Brown walked in the seventh and Andrea Muszynski hit her to second, but again the Saints failed to hit in the clutch and could not put a run on the board.

Pickering pitched all 12 innings for the Saints and gave up four earned runs. She struck out nine batters and only gave up three walk.

The Saints will face Mitchell again tomorrow at 10:30am, and will take on Elmira at 2:30pm. They will enter tomorrow’s competition with a 2-11 record.

SAINTS PICK UP THEIR FIRST WIN IN FLORIDA

Mar. 25: The St. Lawrence softball team beat St. Joseph’s (NY) 12-0 in Fort Myers, FL. Junior Ava Pickering picked up the win and allowed only one hit, and Sara Clark came in to close out the game in the last two innings and notched 4 strikeouts.

St. Lawrence produced 13 hits in the win, including triples from senior Bekah Howrigan and junior Yralee Mendez. Howrigan was 3-3 on the day, Mendez finished 2-3, and Andrea Muszynski had a pair of base hits as well.

The Saints went into extra innings against Lawrence and Lasell, but could not come away with a win in either contest. Kelsey Austin pitched against Lawrence and struck out four, and Nicole Bottego homered in the effort, but the Saints failed to score in extra innings and ultimately lost 3-2.

In the game against Lasell, Austin pitched four scoreless innings, and St. Lawrence scored five runs, before three costly Saints errors turned the momentum in Lasell’s favor. At the plate, the Saints notched 11 hits in seven innings, and Melissa Pittelli hit 4-6 for the game including two doubles. Howrigan hit 3-4 with one double, and Muszynski picked up three hits in the effort.

The Lasell bats came alive in the fifth inning to tie the game at 5-5 and send it to extra innings. St. Lawrence was able to produce, recording 9 hits and scoring four runs in two extra innings, but a grand slam ended the Saints chances for a victory.

The Saints lost to Buffalo State, Smith, Wisconsin-Superior, Trinity, North Central, Elms, Bowdoin, and Babson in other games throughout the week.

SAINTS EAGER TO OPEN SEASON IN FLORIDA

Mar. 14: The St. Lawrence softball team will look to open their 2006 season in Fort Myers, FL on Saturday, March 18 th against Buffalo State. The Saints will then play ten games in six days to complete their Florida journey. The majority of competition hails from the northeast, as St. Lawrence will face Smith, Elms, St. Joseph’s (ME), Bowdoin, and Babson to name a few.

The Saints are a team filled with youth, only returning one senior and three juniors with game experience. Senior Bekah Howrigan ranked second on the team in both hits

and RBI's, and recorded a .337 batting average last season as a junior. She started every game for St. Lawrence at second base, and will be looked to for leadership in the infield this season.

Juniors Melissa Pittelli, Yralee Mendez, and Ava Pickering will be key factors to this year’s success. Pittelli will anchor the Saints defense behind the plate. Her junior campaign as catcher was halted in the second game of last season when a play at the plate resulted in a dislocated thumb for Pittelli. Mendez played in 19 games as a junior, and started 16 of them. She will be in charge of the outfield, and will hold down centerfield for the Saints. Pickering was also injured last season, and will be the ace on the mound for St. Lawrence this season. She will be looking to get back to her first year form when she threw 111.2 innings and had an ERA of 1.94.

Sophomores Emilie Lannamann, Sara Clark, Kelsey Austin, Sheila Rodriguez, and Nicole Bottego will also need to contribute this season if the Saints hope to be successful. Lannamann started every game last season at short stop and will bring a steady presence to the infield. Clark played in 18 games as a first year and batted .222 for the year. She will see time in multiple positions this season as a pitcher, infielder, and outfielder.

Austin played in 9 games in her first year, and batted .250. She will see time on the mound and at first base. Rodriguez, an outfielder, and Bottego, a first baseman, will also be expected to help out on both sides of the ball.

Saints without collegiate experience include juniors Jessica Smith, Andrea Muszynski, and first years Lilah Brown, Krista Chadwick, Katie Dreher, Janelle Graves, and Jessica Young. Smith and Muszynski will see time in the outfield, and on the offensive side of the ball. Brown, Chadwick, and Dreher will look to get time in the infield, Chadwick will also play in the outfield. Graves will look to be a force on the mound in the first season of her career as a Saint. Young is a catcher who will be joining the team after Florida and will look to add offensive power to the Saints lineup.