Newburgh, N.Y. - Tied at six and with the bases loaded in the bottom half of the seventh inning, Mount Saint Mary junior Christina Maiocco (Rockaway Beach, N.Y.) ripped a single through the left side allowing the winning run to score from third. The Blue Knights walked off with a 7-6 victory over Purchase College in the first round of the Skyline Conference Tournament. MSMC is 13-18 overall and will play St. Joseph's College in the second round on Friday. Purchase finishes their season at 13-18.

Senior Erin Gilmore (Ocean, N.J.) led off the seventh with a double down the left field line and moved to third on a single by senior Regina Ammirati (North Babylon, N.Y.). Junior Erin Lappe (Goshen, N.Y.) walked to load the bases, turning the game over to Maiocco. Maiocco grounded a 2-2 pitch through the hole between shortstop and third base and Gilmore scored easily from third.

The Panthers tied the game with a pair of runs in the fifth and then one more in the sixth. Sophomore Kiersten Morsanutto (Norwalk, Conn.) and freshman Sarah Greer (Baldwin, N.Y.) each had an RBI-single in the fifth and then sophomore Meghan LaLonde (Parishville, N.Y.) singled home the run in the sixth.

After falling behind by a run in the first inning, the Blue Knights scored two runs each in the second, third, and fourth innings. After a leadoff triple by freshman Jackie Governale (Bethpage, N.Y.), Gilmore laced a RBI-single up the middle. Gilmore scored later in the inning on a double by freshman Erin Dammermuth (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.). In the third, Governale doubled home a run and then scored on an error by the Purchase center fielder. Senior Jen Weiner (Walden, N.Y.) picked up an RBI in the fourth with a long triple to left field and then scored on a single up the middle from freshman Sarah Johnson (Montgomery, N.Y.).

Dammermuth pitched the first five innings for the Blue Knights, allowing seven hits and three earned runs while striking out two. She was replaced in the sixth by Lappe who worked the final two innings to pick up the victory, her seventh of the season. Lappe escaped a bases-loaded jam in the sixth with only one run of damage and then retired the side in order in the seventh.

Purchase junior Emily Stanley (Holmes, N.Y.) went the distance for the Panthers, allowing fifteen hits and six earned runs. She stranded twelve Blue Knights on the bases to keep Purchase in the game.

Governale finished 3-for-3 with two doubles, a triple, two runs scored and a run batted in. Weiner was 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored and an RBI. Maiocco was 2-for-2, including the game-winner, and Gilmore also had a pair of hits to go along with 2 runs and an RBI.

For Purchase, LaLonde was 3-for-4 with two runs and one RBI. Morsanutto, Greer, and junior Patricia Orellana (New York, N.Y.) each had two hits for the Panthers.

With the victory, the Blue Knights advance to the double elimination stage of the Skyline Tournament. They continue their season on Friday, May 2 and will take on top-seeded St. Joseph's at 4:00 p.m. in Patchogue, N.Y.