UNION SWEEPS SAINTS IN FINAL

GAMES OF 2009 SEASON

May 3:  The St. Lawrence University softball team completed its 2009 season on Sunday afternoon against Union College in Schenectady, NY.  The Saints lost the opening game 9-1 in five innings before falling to the Dutchwomen in game two by the score of 7-3.

The Saints finish the year with a 5-25 record, including a 1-7 mark in Liberty League play.  Union improves to 28-6 on the season and 5-3 in the conference.

St. Lawrence held a 1-0 lead in game one after tallying the opening score of the game in the top of the second inning.  Senior Meg Richardson earned a leadoff walk against Union’s Tiffany Ippoliti and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by classmate Sandy Gates.  Sophomore Meg Goodemote then delivered an RBI single to left to plate Richardson and put the Scarlet and Brown ahead 1-0.

The Dutchwomen would respond with a run on two hits in the bottom half of the second when Becky Gronczniak scored on a wild pitch from Goodemote, who started on the mound for the visitors.  After the Saints left a runner on base in both the third and fourth innings, Union took its first lead at 2-1 in the bottom of the fourth when Callee Heywood scored on a two-out error by the Saints in the infield.

After Ippoliti retired the Saints in order in the top of the fifth, the Dutchwomen exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the inning to win game one, 9-1.  Alexandra King hammered a three-run homerun, while Kaitlin Graham added an RBI single to put Union ahead 6-1.  Bridget Graham continued to pour on the offense for the home team against Goodemote, as she followed with an RBI single and Megan Kaknis walked to score another run.  Though sophomore Rachel Duffany relieved Goodemote with two outs and the bases loaded, she was unable to retire Nina Cervini, who walked in the game’s final run to give the Dutchwomen a 9-1 victory.

Ippoliti improved to 11-2 on the year after allowing one earned run on five hits while striking out three. Goodemote suffered the loss and fell to 0-15 on the season after giving up eight earned runs on 11 hits in 4.2 innings.  She also gave up six walks while recording one strikeout, but was the only St. Lawrence batter to record two hits against Ippoliti.

Despite suffering the loss in game one, St. Lawrence regrouped and jumped all over Union’s starting pitcher Lindsay Colvin.  The first four batters reached base, while junior Molly Swan delivered an RBI single to put the visitors ahead 1-0 and chase Colvin from the game.  Senior Emilie Lannamann’s groundout scored another run for the Saints, though Ginni Sack escaped the jam she inherited by stranding two base-runners.

After Union tied the game in the bottom of the first at 2-2 on a double by Michelle Rogers off of Duffany,

St. Lawrence again threatened in the top of the second.  With the bases loaded and two outs, Swan ripped an RBI single to center to score Goodemote and put the Saints ahead 3-2.  However, Sack again worked out of trouble, getting Lannamann to ground out to end the inning and keep Union well within striking distance.

The Dutchwomen tied the game in the bottom of the second on an RBI double by Bridget Graham, then took their first lead at 4-3 in the bottom of the third when Kaknis drilled a solo homerun to left field.  Though St. Lawrence would again load the bases in the top of the fourth, they were unable to push across the tying run.

The home team would put the game away with three insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth inning on two hits and an error.  All three runs came with two outs, with the big hit coming again from Bridget Graham, a two-run homerun to put the Dutchwomen up 7-3.  Sack then pitched a scoreless seventh inning to preserve the win for Union.

St. Lawrence stranded 12 runners on base in game two.  Duffany took the loss after allowing four earned runs on 10 hits.  Sack earned the victory and improved to 12-3 on the year after scattering six hits in 7.0 innings, while allowing only one earned run and striking out five batters.

Sophomore Melissa Rogers record two hits and scored a run for St. Lawrence, while Swan finished 2-of-4 with two RBI’s.

 

 

ATKINS, DUFFANY HELP SAINTS EARN

SPLIT WITH 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.

 

 

POTSDAM STATE EXTENDS SAINTS'

SKID TO EIGHT GAMES

Apr. 29: The St. Lawrence University softball team lost a pair of non-conference games to North Country rival Potsdam State on Wednesday afternoon by the scores of 5-3 and 3-1.  The defeats extended the Saints’ active losing streak to eight games.

St. Lawrence (4-22) and Potsdam State (13-21) each put up three runs a piece in the first inning of game one.  The Bears took a 3-0 lead on St. Lawrence sophomore pitcher Meg Goodemote, as Jessica Brower had a two-RBI single and Allison Smiddy added an RBI hit.  The Saints would answer in the bottom half of the inning when junior Molly Swan delivered an RBI single and later scored on an error, while sophomore Erika Alvarez also contributed an RBI groundout.

The six runs in the opening frame would be the only offense until the seventh inning, as Goodemote escaped several jams to keep the Bears from reclaiming the lead.  The Saints turned a 6-4-3 double play to end the second, and then senior Lilah Brown had an unassisted double play to end the third.  St. Lawrence then caught two runners stealing from first and third to end the threat in the fourth.

Brittany Pawlowski was solid on the mound for Potsdam State, as she allowed only four hits in seven innings to keep the Saints’ bats quiet.  Pawlowski then helped herself out with the game-winning RBI in the top of the seventh, as she drove in Allison Breivogel for a 4-3 lead.  Danielle Tierney then added an RBI single for an insurance run to pick up the victory for the Bears.

Goodemote remained winless on the season after giving up ten hits and four earned runs.  Pawlowski improved to 6-1 on the year after striking out five batters and earning the 5-3 victory.

Both teams received solid pitching outings in game two, as Potsdam State’s Ashley McCoy logged her best start of 2009 against St. Lawrence sophomore hurler Rachel Duffany.  Each pitcher struck out seven hitters in the game, though McCoy got the run support she needed in a well-pitched three-hitter to earn the 3-1 victory.

The Bears scored one run in three consecutive innings to build a 3-0 cushion as errors plagued the Saints in the early-going.  McCoy scored from third on an errant pick-off attempt in the second inning to make it 1-0, while Smiddy added an RBI single in the third for a 2-0 lead.  After St. Lawrence went in order in the bottom of the third, Potsdam came right back and added a run to their total when Dedra Palmer had an RBI single to score Molly Flynn.

 

Though Duffany would allow only one Potsdam State base runner in the final three innings, McCoy continued to keep the Saints’ off of the scoreboard until the bottom of the sixth.  Goodemote hammered a one-out double then moved to third on a wild pitch.  She then scored two batters later on an error by the Potsdam shortstop to make the score 3-1.

Needing two runs to tie the score in the bottom of the seventh, the Saints set themselves up nicely with runners at first and second with nobody out.  However, McCoy buckled down and retired three consecutive batters to strand the tying runs on base and give the Bears a narrow 3-1 victory.

McCoy allowed no earned runs and struck out seven in seven innings of work to improve to 2-3 on the year while Duffany fell to 4-9 after giving up five hits and one earned run in the loss.

St. Lawrence will hit the road for the final four games of the 2009 season this weekend, as they face Liberty League opponents Skidmore and Union on Saturday and Sunday, May 2 and 3.