BLUEJAYS STOP SAINTS IN GNAC SOFTBALL TWINBILL

BOSTON, Mass. – Emmanuel College suffered two losses to the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) on Sunday afternoon in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) softball twinbill played on the diamond at Roberto Clemente Field.  The visiting Bluejays nipped the Saints, 4-3, in game one, before handily taking care of the hosts, 12-4 in the nightcap.  The wins bring USJ to 15-9 overall, 7-5 GNAC, while Emmanuel slips to 8-18 overall, 3-11 GNAC.

GAME ONE:

Emmanuel was able to get out of the first inning, despite USJ's Stephanie Valerio (Wolcott, Conn.) smashing a ground-rule double to centerfield in the top of the first.  The hosts held Saint Joseph scoreless through two, but the Bluejays would score three runs off of three hits in the third.

Rookie Haley McCall (Lebanon, Conn.) kicked things off for the visitors, when she singled to rightfield and stole second.  McCall was driven in by Valerio, who hit a single up the middle in her second at-bat to give the Bluejays a 1-0 lead.  Valerio kept things moving for USJ, as she stole second and was plated by Hummel, on another single to right, which put the Bluejays up, 2-0.  USJ would tack on their final run of the inning, when Patti Sciglimpaglia (Norwalk, Conn.) hit a sacrifice fly to right and Hummel crossed the plate for a 3-0 Saint Joseph advantage.

Emmanuel would get its first base-runner of the afternoon in the bottom of the fourth, when Catherine Davis (Wethersfield, Conn.) hit a short single to centerfield.  The rookie short-stop stole second and was moved to third on a sac by Jenna Marcello (Hopedale, Mass.).  Junior third-baseman Kayla Howard (Belmont, N.H.) then ripped a two-out double to leftfield, which scored Davis for the Saints' first run of the day and Emmanuel trailed 3-1 heading into the fifth.

The Saints held the Bluejays scoreless through the fifth and sixth and managed to knot the game up at 3-all in the bottom of the sixth.  Marcello opened the side with a walk and Davis tallied her second single of the game, before both runners advanced on a USJ throwing error. Jennifer Garrity (Lynn, Mass.) hit an RBI single to right, which plated Marcello and moved Davis to third.  Kelly Lloid (Issaquah, Wash.) then picked up the RBI that scored Davis and tied the game at 3-3.

Saint Joseph would rally in the seventh to score the game-winning run and pull out the 4-3 win.  Freshman Val Kiers (West Warwick, R.I.) came in to relieve Lloid in the circle for the Saints, but the rookie struggled early and Valerio and Emily Hummel (Hebron, Conn.) would reach after being by hit by pitches.  Patti Sciglimpaglia (Norwalk, Conn.) registered the game-winning RBI, as Hummel crossed the plate for Saint Joseph's fourth run of the day.Emmanuel went down without a baserunner in the bottom of the side and the Bluejays pulled out the one-run win.

Sciglimpaglia, not only drove in the winning run, the rookie pitcher earned the win in the circle for the Bluejays, pitching the full seven innings and giving up four hits and two earned runs, while striking out two for her seventh win of the season.

Kiers took the loss for the Saints, pitching just the final inning.  Lloid struck out two batters in her six innings pitched, giving up seven hits and three earned runs.

GAME TWO:

The nightcap featured the Bluejays scoring in all six innings, including plating three runs in both the second and sixth innings.  USJ took advantage of early miscues by the Saints with their opening batter reaching on a throwing error.  Hummel then hit a gapper to left that scored McCall, as the Bluejays went up 1-0 in the first.

Emmanuel was held scoreless through four. During the offensive drought, the visitors managed to tack on six more runs.  USJ scored three (two unearned) off of two hits by Mary Sciglimpaglia (Norwalk, Conn.) and Shauna Sullivan (Rocky Hill, Conn.) to pull in front, 4-0, after two.

A double to right by P.Sciglimpaglia and RBI singles from Hilary LaRosa (Meriden, Conn.) and McCall in the top of the third made it a 6-0 game.  Another RBI single from P.Sciglimpaglia in the forth put the Bluejays up, 7-0.  After RBI singles by McCall and Hummel in the top of the fifth and with USJ up 9-0, it appeared the contest would end early.

Emmanuel would not go down without a fight, however, as the Saints racked up four runs off of three hits in the bottom of the fifth to extend the game.  Kiers opened the inning by reaching on a walk and Julia Levins (Uxbridge, Mass.) was hit by a pitch, giving the Saints first and second.  A single up the middle by Kerianne Vulpis (East Rockaway, N.Y.) loaded the bases for Emmanuel.  Davis then stepped to the plate and smashed a two-out double, which scored both Kiers and Levins.  Garrity followed with a single, sending home Vulpis and Davis and the Saints cut their deficit to 9-4.

Saint Joseph managed three runs off of three hits in the sixth to put the visitors back in front by eight runs and Emmanuel was seated quickly in the bottom of the side, as the game ended at 12-4 after six innings played.

Hummel went 3-5 at the plate with 4 RBI to lead the Bluejays' offense.  Davis was 2-2 for the Saints with 2 RBI in the effort.

Hummel moved to 6-4 on the season, earning the win for USJ.  The senior pitcher gave up 4 hits and 4 earned runs, while striking out 4.

Kiers pitched the first four innings for the Saints, giving up 7 hits and 3 earned runs, with 2 strikeouts.  Lloid relieved Kiers for the final two innings and gave up 6 hits and 2 earned runs with 2 strikeouts.

Emmanuel will be back in action on Tuesday, April 9, when the Saints travel to Buzzards Bay for a non-conference double-header with Massachusetts Maritime Academy, slated to begin at 3:30 PM.