OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College softball team (9-7, 5-1 Skyline) rolled to a pair of mercy-rule victories in a Skyline Conference doubleheader against SUNY College at Old Westbury (3-19, 0-8 Skyline) Monday afternoon at the Jackie Robinson Athletic Complex. The Knights defeated the Panthers, 8-0, in five innings in game one, and then picked up an 11-2 victory in the finale in six innings.
Game 1:Both teams went scoreless in the first two innings of game one, but the Knights exploded for seven runs in the third. Senior catcher
Stephanie Karcher (Oxford, Conn.) brought in the first two runs after hitting a fly ball to right field for a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded. The ball was dropped, allowing two runs to come across. Sophomore first baseman
Michelle Surdan (Acton, Mass.) then knocked in the third run on an RBI ground out to third. Freshman designated player
Cindy Connoly (Walden, N.Y.) reached on a fielding error by the shortstop, bringing in the fourth Knight run of the inning.
The Knights finally brought in some runs on a hit when sophomore shortstop
Breanna DePasquale (Brooklyn, N.Y.) singled to left. However, an error by the left fielder is what allowed two more runs to score, improving the Knight lead to 6-0. Junior center fielder
Sabrina Gordek (Levittown, N.Y.) capped off the inning with an RBI single up the middle to put the Knights up, 7-0.
Freshman left fielder
Courtney Barbara (Fishkill, N.Y.) put the Knights up by eight with an RBI single in the fourth, giving them enough runs to force a mercy-rule finish after the fifth.
Freshman pitcher
Colleen Dunn (Bellmore, N.Y.) improved to 4-0 on the season after throwing the complete five innings without allowing a run. She struck out four batters in the process. Amanda Fucci allowed seven unearned runs for Old Westbury to fall to 1-11 on the season.
Barbara went 3-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI to lead the Knights in game one. Karcher hit 1-for-2 with an RBI and a run. Freshman right fielder
Taylor Canto (Walden, N.Y.) scored a run in a 2-for-3 outing.
Game 2:The Knights got off to a fast start in game two, scoring five runs in their first at-bat of the game. Designated player
Danielle Soto (Miller Place, N.Y.) knocked in the first run on an RBI single to left. Junior third baseman
Chelsea Dexter (Beacon, N.Y.) then doubled to right-center, bringing in two more runs. Karcher later scored on a wild pitch, and then DePasquale brought in Dexter on a ground out to first to put the Knights up, 5-0.
The Panthers rallied for a couple runs in the bottom of the second to get back into the game. Right fielder Elizabeth Redguard singled to left to bring in a run, and then left fielder Delana Murray singled to center, which was followed by an error that allowed another run to score.
With runners on second and third in the top of the third, Gordek legged out an infield single to short, bringing in Dexter once again to put the Knights up, 6-2. They then turned in another big inning in the sixth to take a commanding lead. Karcher kicked off the scoring with a two-RBI triple, and then scored on a double by DePasquale. Surdan knocked in Dexter on a single to left, and junior left fielder
Brianne Germain (Greenwood Lake, N.Y.) capped it off with an RBI ground out to third. The Knights held Old Westbury scoreless in the bottom of the inning, forcing the game to end by mercy rule once again.
Junior pitcher
Nicole Lomangino (Wantagh, N.Y.) picked up the win after tossing four innings of scoreless relief. Nicole DeCola suffered the loss for Old Westbury after allowing 11 runs on 15 hits.
Dexter hit 2-for-3 with three runs scored, two RBIs, a double and a triple in the Knights' game-two victory. Karcher batted 2-for-3 with two RBIs, two runs, and double and a triple. DePasquale knocked in two and scored another in a 1-for-3 outing, and Canto had another solid game out of the leadoff spot, going 3-for-4 with a run.
The Knights have scored 31 runs in the past three games, and will need that offensive momentum when they take on The Sage Colleges on Tuesday, April 14, in another Skyline Conference doubleheader. Game one at Mount Saint Mary is set to begin at 3 p.m.
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