FOUR EARN LIBERTY LEAGUE ACADEMIC HONORS

March 31: Four members of St. Lawrence University’s softball team have earned Liberty League All Academic honors, three of them for the third straight year.

Seniors Heather Tuttle, a pitcher and infielder, Erin Lloyd, who plays outfield and Ashley Porter, also an outfielder, all made the academic honors team for the third consecutive season. Sophomore catcher Melissa Pittelli was the fourth Saint player to make the team in her first year of eligibility for Liberty League academic honors.

To qualify, a player must be of sophomore or higher academic standing and have at least a 3.2 grade point average.

Tuttle is a English major while Lloyd, Porter and Pittelli are all majoring in psychology.

YOUNG SAINTS GO 4-6 IN FLORIDA

March 21: A St. Lawrence University women’s softball team which includes new faces in key places went 4-6 on its annual southern trip in Florida, showing promise for continued improvement throughout the season.

The Saint home opener originally scheduled for Tuesday March 29 against Elmira has been rescheduled for Thursday April 28 at 2:30 p.m. The Saints will now open at home against Potsdam on Tuesday April 5 if field conditions permit.

“I thought we were very competitive, particularly with a young lineup,” said coach Fran Grembowicz. “We were in every game but one and had chances to win in four of the six losses.”

The Saints sustained four one-run losses, two of them going eight innings and being decided by softball’s tie-breaker rule in which a runner is placed on second to start the inning. In both tie breakers the Saints were the visiting team and the home team scored each time.

Senior pitcher/first baseman Heather Tuttle led the Saints, hitting .438 with 14 hits in 32 at bats and driving in 14 runs. She had two doubles, a triple and three homers in the ten games. On the mound, she had a 3-4 record with a 1.15 earned run average in eight appearances.

Senior outfielder Erin Lloyd hit .467 in seven games while senior Ashley Porter hit .381, also in seven games. Junior Rebekah Howrigan took over at second base and hit .333 with ten hits in 30 at bats and drove in four runs. Rookie catcher Shelly Martin had an impressive southern trip and hit .296 with eight hits including three doubles.

In addition to Tuttle on the mound, first year Jess McPherson turned in some solid performances in four appearances and had a 2.80 earned run average in 20 innings while sophomore Ava Pickering battled control problems, but pitched a strong game in her last outing in Florida.

The Saints are scheduled to open the Northern portion of their schedule at home against Elmira on March 29.

Game Recaps:

Elms 4, SLU 3 8 innings: Elms scored the placed runner on a single in the bottom of the eighth to tip the Saints in game one in Fort Myers. The Saints built a 3-0 lead with singles runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth, but Elms came back to tie it with three in the bottom of the sixth. Tuttle took the loss and did not allow an earned run. Tuttle and Melissa Pittelli had run-scoring hits for the Saints in the game.

SLU 6, Nichols 5: The Saints came from behind with six runs in the fifth and sixth innings for a 6-5 win over Nichols in game two. Tuttle pitched four innings in relief of Pickering to earn the win. Tuttle hit a three run homer in the fifth and the Saints tacked on three unearned runs in the sixth. Yralee Mendez added two hits in three at bats for the Saints while Paige Truax scored twice from the leadoff spot and drove in a run.

SLU 4, Lasell 3: The Saints came back from a 2-0 deficit for the win as Jess McPherson picked up her first collegiate victory, allowing two earned runs and striking out eight. Truax went three for three at the top of the lineup and Tuttle slammed another three run homer. First year Sara Clark doubled home the winning run in the bottom of the fourth.

Suffolk 6, SLU 5: Suffolk scored the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to tip the Saints in game four of the trip. Tuttle took the loss in relief of Pickering, allowing just two hits in 3.2 innings of work. Suffolk scored five in the bottom of the third to take a 5-1 lead, but the Saints battled back to tie it with three in the fifth and one in the sixth. Tuttle had a run scoring triple while Howrigan, Shawna Weeks, Emilie Lannamann and Martin all had doubles. Truax, Howrigan and Martin had two hits each for the Saints.

SLU 6, UMass.-Boston 3: Tuttle pitched three scoreless innings to earn the win and McPherson and Sara Clark both saw mound action as the Saints won 6-3 in game five of the Florida series. The Saints jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the game as Kelsey Austin went two for two and drove in two runs and Lannamann had three hits and drove in a run. Howrigan also had two hits in the game. Weeks, Martin and Austin all had doubles for the Saints.

Western New England 4, SLU 0: A strong pitching performance by Western New England’s Jackie Shedlock shut down the Saints in game six as Shedlock allowed no runs on five hits and struck out nine. Weeks had two of the five Saint hits in the game and McPherson took the loss on the mound.

Delaware Valley 12, SLU 4: The Saints and Delaware Valley were tied at four through four, but the Aggies put up eight runs in the bottom of the fifth to win it. Tuttle took the loss for the Saints and had two hits. Weeks had two hits and drove in two runs with a third inning two-run homer. Martin also doubled in a run and had two hits for the Saints.

Salem State 4, SLU 3 (8 innings): The Saints bowed on a tie breaker for the second time on the southern trip against Salem State. McPherson allowed only two earned runs through seven and struck out four. Tuttle drove in two runs for the Saints and Erin Lloyd had two hits.

SLU 5, Finlandia 1: The Saints pulled away from a 2-1 lead after three with single runs in the fourth sixth and seventh, pounding out 15 hits for their fourth win of the Florida series. Tuttle pitched the win allowing one unearned run on six hits. She also went three for five and drove in three runs. Howrigan also had three hits including a double and drove in the other two runs. Porter went four for five and scored three runs and McPherson added two hits.

New England College 4, SLU 3: Pickering surrendered only four hits and no earned runs, striking out seven, but New England College held off the Saints for a 4-3 win in the final game of the Florida trip. Tuttle hit her third home run of the trip and had two of the five Saint hits while Howrigan doubled in two runs.