NEWBURGH, N.Y. – First baseman Lori Michalowski brought in the only run of the game on an RBI single to deep left field, giving Farmingdale State College (21-12) the 1-0 victory over Mount Saint Mary College (19-11) in Sunday's Skyline Conference Championship final at the MSMC Softball Field. The win represents Farmingdale State's fifth straight Skyline Title.
Sunday's matchup featured a pitchers' duel worthy of the conference championship game, as both starters kept their opponents off the board for the entirety of the regularly-scheduled seven innings. After the Knights went down in order in the top of the eighth, Rams third baseman Andrea Klarman picked up an infield single to third, that could've been a double had it not been knocked down by senior third baseman
Danielle Soto (Miller Place, N.Y.), to lead off the first extra inning for the Rams. The tournament's Most Outstanding Player, Rams center fielder Michelle Mongiello, then singled off a face-high fastball to put runners on first and second with nobody out. Right fielder Marissa Monaco grounded out to short, but advanced the runners to second and third. Michalowski then hit a screaming line drive over the left fielder's head, allowing the winning run to score and clinch the Title for the Rams.
Farmingdale State starter Taylor Tedeschi tossed eight scoreless innings, and forced 18 fly outs to pick up the win. Freshman starter
Cindy Connoly (Walden, N.Y.) put in a heck of an effort, striking out nine batters over 7.1 innings, but yielded the winning run in extra innings to get tagged with the loss.
The Rams threatened early in the game, putting runners on the corners with two away, but Connoly took care of business, striking out Michalowski to end the inning.
The Knights got their first chance to score in the top of the third. Sophomore second baseman
Shannon Sommer (Brewster, N.Y.) beat out a bunt to the third baseman, and then freshman designated player
Courtney Barbara (Fishkill, N.Y.) reached on a dropped pop up by the second baseman. With two on, Soto hit a hard line drive to left, but right to the left fielder for the second out. Then Tedeschi got Karcher to strike out to end the inning.
The Rams got two runners on with two outs once again in the third after Klarman walked and Mongiello singled through the left side. Once again, Connoly took care of business herself, forcing Monaco to ground out right back to her to end the inning.
The Rams had a big opportunity to break the game open in the bottom of the fourth. Michalowski led off the inning with a double to deep center, and then left fielder Allison Dailey singled to right to put runners on the corners with nobody out. Connoly then struck out second baseman Brittney Ciaramitaro for the first out of the inning. Meghan Acton pinch hit for the Rams in the next at bat, but she popped out to first for the second out. Connoly got out of the inning by striking out designated player Sam Johrden, keeping the game scoreless through four innings.
A bizarre turn of events ruined a big opportunity for the Knights in the top of the fifth. With one away, Sommer blooped a single over the second baseman, and then Barbara reached on an infield single to put two runners on. Soto then hit a long fly ball to deep left field that many on the field and in the crowd thought was leaving the park. The ball tailed foul, and Dailey made a spectacular effort to chase it down and make the catch, but Sommer was able to tag up to third on the play. However, the Rams appealed to second base, and the umpire ruled that Sommer had not properly tagged up, ending the Knights' threat.
The top of the Rams' lineup came up in the fifth in what looked like it could be the Rams best chance to score late in the game. Connoly thought otherwise, and struck out the Rams' three and four hitters for the final two outs.
The Knights once again put themselves in position to score in the top of the sixth. With one out, sophomore first baseman
Michelle Surdan (Acton, Mass.) hit a hard grounder to short, and shortstop Kerri Ossenfort was unable to make the tough play, giving Surdan a single. Connoly swung on the first pitch in her at bat, a rare occurrence for the Knights' ace, and singled into right field to put Surdan in scoring position. Junior right fielder
Chelsea Dexter (Beacon, N.Y.) then moved the runners to second and third on a ground out, but freshman left fielder
Taylor Canto (Walden, N.Y.) flew out to left to end the inning.
Connoly had another stellar inning in the sixth, fanning two Rams in a 1-2-3 inning. The Knights got a runner on in the seventh with Barbara's third single of the game, but they were unable to turn it into a rally. Connoly got the Rams to go down in order in the bottom of the seventh, sending the game to extra frames.
The Knights went down in order in the top of the eighth, but any of the three at bats could have easily fallen in for hits. Karcher led off with a long fly ball to right-center, which Monaco chased down to the warning track for the first out. Surdan then hit a smoking line drive, but right at the shortstop to put two away. Connoly then hit a grounder between the first and second baseman, but Ally Mancini was able to come up with it and get the out at first to end the inning. This was the last time the Knights got to bat after the Rams walked off in the bottom of the eighth.
Mongiello went 3-for-4 to pace the Rams in their championship victory on Sunday. Michalowski hit 2-for-4 with a double and the game-winning RBI. Klarman drew three walks and went 1-for-1 with a run scored.
Barbara hit 3-for-4 with three singles, and was on base in all four at bats after reaching on an error. Sommer went 2-for-4 out of the leadoff spot. Dexter batted 1-for-3 on the afternoon, and Surdan and Connoly each hit 1-for-4.
The Knights advanced to the Skyline Conference Championship final round after going 2-1 across the first two days of the tournament. They defeated No. 4 The Sage Colleges, 3-2, on Friday, but lost to No. 2 Farmingdale State in the winner's bracket matchup, 3-2, Saturday morning. They faced off with Sage once again Saturday afternoon in an elimination game, coming out on top, 3-1, to have a chance at Farmingdale State once again. The Knights would have needed two wins on Sunday to claim the Skyline Title.
The Knights' season ends with a runner-up finish in the Skyline Conference Championships. The Knights made their furthest postseason run since they finished as Skyline runners-up back in 2005. They finish the season 19-11 overall, pushing head coach
Jessica Mushel's two-year record to 39-25. They also tied the program's record for most Skyline wins in a season with 12.
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