Skyline Conference Championship Central

Newburgh, N.Y. – After claiming its second straight conference regular season crown, the Mount Saint Mary College Softball team will open the Skyline Conference Championship at home on Friday afternoon against Farmingdale State at 12:00 p.m. Live Stats for those who cannot attend any of the weekend games will be available.
 
The Schedule: The Championship opened on Wednesday with a pair of single elimination games, with Mount Saint Vincent walking off with a 6-5 win over Purchase and Farmingdale State storming back with an eight run sixth inning for a 10-9 win over St. Joseph's-L.I. The remainder of the schedule shapes up as follows:
 
Wednesday, April 27
Game 1: (5) Farmingdale State 10 – (4) St. Joseph's-L.I. 9
Game 2: (3) Mount Saint Vincent 6 – (6) Purchase 5
 
Friday, April 29
Game 3: (5) Farmingdale State at (1) Mount Saint Mary – 12:00 p.m.
Game 4: (3) Mount Saint Vincent vs. (2) Sage  - 3:00 p.m.
 
Saturday, April 30
Game 5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner – 10:00 a.m.
Game 6: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 loser – 1:00 p.m.
Game 7: Game 5 loser vs. Game 6 winner – 4:00 p.m.
 
Sunday, May 1
Game 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 7 winner – 11:00 a.m.
Game 9: if necessary – 1:30 p.m.
 
How They Got Here: Mount Saint Mary claimed the top seed in the Championship by posting a stellar 16-2 record against league opponents in 2016. The Knights hit .377 against conference foes in 2016, outscoring league rivals 1370-40 while posting a 2.11 earned run average.
 
Mount Saint Mary had 12 different players hit better than .300 in league contests, led by a .595 mark from senior Chelsea Dexter (Beacon, N.Y.). Dexter drove in 23 runs in Skyline games and connected on seven extra base hits, including three home runs. Sophomore Cindy Connoly (Walden, N.Y.) also blasted three home runs against league rivals and hit .415 with 16 RBI. Freshman Amanda Almodovar (Chester, N.Y.) rounded out a trio who hit at least .400 in Skyline tilts, hitting an even .400 with nine runs and six stolen bases.
 
The pitching staff featured a pair of pitchers with sub 2.00 earned run averages during the league schedule, with Colleen Dunn (Bellmore, N.Y.) going 3-0 for the Knights with a 1.33 ERA, while Connoly posted an 8-1 record with a 1.60 ERA. Connoly fanned 62 hitters and walked just three in conference contests in 48.0 innings pitched. Senior Victoria Goldbach (Middle Village, N.Y.) won four league games for the Knights, striking out 56 in 39.1 innings of work.
 
The Knights Against The Field: The Mount swept its conference sets from both Mount Saint Vincent and Farmingdale State and was swept on the road at Sage, accounting for the team's only league blemishes of the season.
 
Farmingdale State
2016 Series: 2-0 (W, 7-2; W, 4-3)
Since 2004: 12-21
Conference Championship: 0-7
At A Glance: Since the 2004 season, the Mount has posted 12 wins in 33 matchups with the Rams, including a 0-7 mark in Skyline Conference Championship contests. Since dropping 14 straight contests to Farmingdale State from 2008-12, the Knights have won six of the last eight regular season meetings, including the sweep in 2016.
 
Mount Saint Vincent
2016 Series: 2-0 (W, 4-1; W, 6-2)
Since 2004: 22-4
Conference Championship: 0-0
At A Glance: The Knights have dominated the series with the Dolphins since the start of the 2004 season, posting a 22-4 record. The two teams have never met in the conference championship and the Knights have not lost consecutive games to Mount Saint Vincent since the start of the 2004 season. Mount Saint Mary posted an eight games winning streak from 2010-13 and has won 12 of the last 14 contests.
 
Sage
2016 Series: 0-2 (L, 5-2; L, 6-5)
Since 2004: 21-8
Conference Championship: 2-1
At A Glance: Mount Saint Mary has also seen success against the Gators since the start of the 2004 campaign, winning 21 of the 29 contests, including two of the three meetings in the conference championship. The Knights won 15 straight over Sage from 2005 through game one of the 2012 series and had not lost back-to-back games to the Gators since going 0-3 against them in 2014. The Knights went 4-0 against Sage in 2015, including a pair of wins in the conference championship.

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