Newburgh, N.Y. – Junior
Cindy Connoly (Walden, N.Y.) worked her third shutout of the season and classmate
Kathryn Eiler (Merrick, N.Y.) drove in the deciding runs in the fourth inning as the top-seeded Mount Saint Mary College Softball team advanced to the Skyline Conference Championship Final Round with a 4-0 win over St. Joseph's-L.I. on Saturday afternoon.
Each team was held off the board in their first three at-bats in the winner's bracket contest before the Knights broke through with three runs in the fourth frame.
Amanda Almodovar (Goshen, N.Y.) led off the inning with a single and moved to third after a steal and sacrifice bunt from
Michelle Surdan (Acton, Mass.).
Following an intentional walk to Connoly with one out put runners on the corner, Eiler sent a double over the center fielder's head to push both runner's home for all the scoring the Mount would need. The lead grew to three runs a batter later when
Courtney Barbara (Fishkill, N.Y.) shot a single to right center field to push Eiler home with the third run of the inning.
The Knights maintained the three run lead until tacking on an insurance run in their final at-bat to close out the scoring in the game. Almodovar led off again with a single and was chased home on a triple to right field from Connoly.
Almodovar was the only player in the game with more than one hit, finishing the win 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a pair of stolen bases. Connoly, Eiler and Barbara each finished the game with a hit and RBI, with Eiler driving in two.
Connoly was dominate in the win, allowing just three singles and not allowing a hit until the fifth inning. She moved to 12-7 on the season after working her team leading 19
th complete game and lowered her earned run average to 1.74. She did not walk a batter in the game and struck out a season-high 15 batters.
Saturday's win improves Mount Saint Mary to 26-12 on the season and gets it to the final round for a rematch with Sage on Sunday. First pitch with the Gators is scheduled for 11:00 a.m.
Game Notes: Mount Saint Mary is in search of its second straight conference crown…The Knights and Gators will meet in the final round for the second straight season…Mount Saint Mary is 5-0 in its last five conference championship contests.
