SAINTS' OFFENSIVE STRUGGLES CONTINUE,
LOSE TWO AT PLATTSBURGH
Apr. 9: The St. Lawrence University softball team’s struggles at the plate continued on Thursday afternoon, as the Saints were shut out in back-to-back games by Plattsburgh State. The Cardinals won the opening game 5-0 behind a 13-strikeout pitching performance by Bri Allen, then followed with an 8-0 win in five innings.
Plattsburgh State moved to 8-16 with the two wins, while St. Lawrence fell to 3-13 after dropping their fifth and sixth straight games.
The home team took a 1-0 lead on a leadoff inside-the-park homerun by Amy Woo in the bottom half of the opening frame. However, St. Lawrence pitcher Meg Goodemote was able to get out of a bases loaded jam with two outs to keep the Saints within striking distance.
The visitors would have a chance to even the score in the top of the third when sophomore Laura Byer reached second base with only one out. Allen buckled down though, striking out both Goodemote and junior Jennifer Girard at the top of the order to keep Plattsburgh State on top.
The Cardinals would capitalize on the momentum by putting up three runs in the bottom of the third to snag a 4-0 advantage. Nicole Diemer led off with a homerun, while Paige Molloy and Ashley Napear added RBI’s in the inning.
After Plattsburgh State made it 5-0 in the fourth, St. Lawrence had scoring chances in the fifth and seventh innings, but could not deliver a clutch hit. The Scarlet and Brown continued to be haunted by strikeouts in the fifth, as three hitters struck out to strand the lead-off hitter at second base.
In the seventh, the Saints had runners at first and second base with only one out, but Allen retired Alvarez on a fielder’s choice then earned her 13th strikeout to close out the game by getting Goodemote swinging.
St. Lawrence was held scoreless having earned four hits, while Plattsburgh managed five runs on 11 hits. Goodemote fell to 0-8 on the year after giving up four earned runs and striking out three hitters while Allen gave up only four hits and one walk to her 13 strikeouts.
Four errors would be costly for St. Lawrence in game two of the doubleheader, as Plattsburgh State raced out to an early 6-0 lead in the second inning and went on to win 8-0 in five innings. The Saints managed only two hits on Heather Loughran, as both junior Amy Atkins and Girard earned singles while Loughran struck out seven batters while allowing only one walk.
Sophomore pitcher Rachel Duffany struggled on the mound for St. Lawrence, giving up eight hits in four innings. The Cardinals plated four earned runs and three walks against the Watertown, NY native, sending Duffany to 3-5 on the season.
The Saints will look to snap their six-game losing streak when they visit Hamilton College in Clinton, NY on Wednesday, April 15 at 4:00pm.
ELMIRA'S PITCHING SHUTS DOWN
SAINTS IN DOUBLEHEADER
Apr. 2: The St. Lawrence University softball team dropped their home opening games on Thursday afternoon to Elmira College at Saints Softball Field by the scores of 4-0 and 3-0. The Soaring Eagles’ pitchers, Cassandra Fontinell and Kelli Hadley, surrendered only four hits on the afternoon to extend the Saints’ losing streak to four games.
The losses move St. Lawrence to 3-11 on the season while Elmira improved to 6-2 with the victories.
Despite allowing ten hits in the opening half of the doubleheader, St. Lawrence sophomore pitcher Meg Goodemote worked to keep her team in the game by grinding through several tough situations. After getting out of a jam in the second inning, Goodemote allowed only one run in both the third and fourth despite Elmira having the bases loaded with one out each time. Jacqueline Gibson singled home the opening run in the third for the Soaring Eagles while Goodemote hit Erin Pruess to let Natalie Lesieur score in the fourth for a 2-0 cushion.
The Saints’ bats remained without a hit until the sixth inning when the squad had their best chance to cut into their deficit. Junior Jess Manderfield led off with a double to centerfield and sophomore Melissa Rogers followed with a single that moved Manderfield to third. The Clarence, NY native then advanced to second as the Elmira infield paid no attention to her on the base-path.
The situation was set up perfectly for the Scarlet and Brown, as clean-up hitter junior Molly Swan stepped to the plate with no outs and runners at second and third. However, the Saints were unable to manufacture a run, as Swan grounded out to second and Manderfield was thrown out at home after senior Lilah Brown bounced a ground ball to shortstop. Junior Amy Atkins then grounded out to Fontinell at the mound, who escaped the jam to keep Elmira’s 2-0 lead in tact.
The Soaring Eagles put game one away by tacking on a pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh inning to build a 4-0 lead. The visitors scored twice behind a two-out rally that saw both Gibson and Fontinell pick up RBI’s in the inning.
Fontinell earned the victory after allowing only two hits in seven innings while striking out five and getting 14 ground outs. Despite taking the loss, Goodemote was solid on the mound, scattering 10 hits while striking out a season-high eight batters while allowing only two earned runs.
Four errors would cost the Saints in the second half of Thursday’s doubleheader, as sophomore pitcher Rachel Duffany took the loss despite not allowing any earned runs. The Watertown, NY native was locked in a pitcher’s duel with Hadley, who was very effective for the Soaring Eagles, allowing only two hits and two walks in seven innings of work.
Having just won the opening game, Elmira pounced on two St. Lawrence errors in the first inning to take a 2-0 advantage. Hadley and Stephanie Fontinell each posted RBI’s in the first to continue the visitor’s momentum.
St. Lawrence had a chance to respond in the bottom half of the inning after Brown and Rogers reached to set the Saints up with runners on first and second with only one out. However, Swan and Atkins were unable to score Brown from second, keeping it a 2-0 Elmira lead.
Though the Soaring Eagles would tack on an unearned insurance run in the fifth inning for a 3-0 lead, their previous offense was plenty for Hadley, who cruised through the later stages of the game by retiring the final 14 St. Lawrence hitters to earn the victory.
Brown and Rogers finished with the lone hits in the second game for St. Lawrence, while Lauryn DePaul finished 3-for-4 at the plate for Elmira.
The Saints will look to rebound from the losses next week when the travel to Plattsburgh State for a doubleheader against the Cardinals at 3:00pm on Tuesday, April 7.
