FORT MYERS, Fla. – In the final day of the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic, the Mount Saint Mary College softball team split its last two contests of the week, finishing with a 4-6 record across its 10 games. The Knights defeated the Milwaukee School of Engineering (2-3), 5-0, in the early game, but dropped a 4-3 decision to Wartburg College (5-5) to close out the day.
Freshman
Colleen Dunn (Bellmore, N.Y.) improved to 2-0 on the season after tossing a complete-game shutout in Friday's opener. She allowed just four hits across seven innings and struck out six batters.
The Knights loaded the bases with one away in the bottom of the first. Sophomore first baseman
Michelle Surdan (Acton, Mass.) then drew a walk to bring in the Knights' first run. Later in the inning, sophomore shortstop
Breanna DePasquale (Brooklyn, N.Y.) singled in Surdan and senior catcher
Stephanie Karcher (Oxford, Conn.) give the Knights a 3-0 advantage after the first inning.
The Knights improved their lead to 4-0 on an RBI single by senior third baseman
Danielle Soto (Miller Place, N.Y.) in the bottom of the sixth. They added one more on a single by Surdan later in the inning to cap off the scoring for the game and secure the win.
Surdan went 1-for-3 with two RBI, while DePasquale hit 1-for-4 and knocked in another two runs. Sophomore second baseman
Shannon Sommer (Brewster, N.Y.) reached base four times in the opener, going 2-for-2 with a pair of walks. Freshman right fielder
Taylor Canto (Walden, N.Y.) also had a nice game, going 1-for-3 out of the leadoff spot with two runs.
Third baseman Beth Young went 1-for-1 with a walk for Milwaukee, while first baseman Laryn Brinkman went 1-for-2 and also drew a walk. Starter Shannon Curtis was tagged with the loss after allowing three runs in three innings of work.
The Knights did all of their scoring in the second inning of game two as they faced off with another team of Knights from Wartburg. Freshman
Cindy Connoly (Walden, N.Y.) scored on a passed ball to give the Knights the early 1-0 lead. Canto later knocked in two runs on a single to put the Knights up, 3-0.
Mount Saint Mary ran into some trouble in the home half of the inning, as Wartburg put runners on the corners with one out. Second baseman Kirby Meyer then singled to center to bring in a run, and center fielder Kristie Sommer followed with a double down the left-field line to bring in another and cut the deficit to one. Junior starter
Victoria Goldbach (Middle Village, N.Y.) managed to work her way out of the inning by striking out the next batter, and then forcing a groundout to second, keeping the Knights on top, 3-2.
Neither team threatened to score again until Wartburg's at bat in the bottom of the sixth. With runners on first and second, catcher Katie Wyman singled to left, allowing third baseman Courtney Belk to score from second and tie the game. Later in the inning, Meyer reached on an infield single with two outs, scoring Sarah Grabowski to give Wartburg a 4-3 lead through six.
The Knights gave themselves a chance to tie after back-to-back two-out singles by Sommer and Soto in the top of the seventh, but Karcher grounded out to short for the final out of the game.
Kimberly Wedeling picked up the win for Wartburg after allowing three unearned runs across the complete seven innings. Connoly came on in relief of Goldbach in the fourth, but allowed the tying and leading runs in the sixth to drop to 2-3 on the season. Goldbach finished up with two runs allowed and four strikeouts in three innings, which Connoly matched in her three frames.
Belk, Wyman and Meyer each went 2-for-3 for Wartburg in Friday's finale. Meyer knocked in two runs, while Wyman scored once and brought in another.
Canto went 1-for-4 with two RBI for the Knights in game two. Sommer went 2-for-4 to complete a solid day at the plate. DePasquale and Germain each went 1-for-3 with a run.
The Knights now return home where they will find their upcoming schedule in jeopardy due to complications caused by the recent inclement weather. Their next scheduled doubleheader is set for Wednesday, March 18 at home against Hunter College. First pitch of game one is slated for 3 p.m.
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@MSMCKnights
