Saints Softball Splits Season-Finale Doubleheader vs. Albertus Magnus

THE BASICS 

Score: 
Game 1: Emmanuel 12 – Albertus Magnus 7

Game 2: Albertus Magnus 10 – Emmanuel 9

Records: 
Emmanuel College Saints (24-10, 15-1 GNAC)
Albertus Magnus College Falcons (29-9, 15-3 GNAC)

Location: Boston, Mass. – Clemente Field

Date: Saturday, April 30, 2022

THE LEAD – In a pair of games that saw big swings of momentum and scoring rallies, the Emmanuel Saints and Albertus Magnus Falcons split Saturday's doubleheader in Great Northeast Athletic Conference play. With EC's game one victory, the Saints winning streak reached 20 games, setting a program record for consecutive wins.

HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME 1)

• A sixth inning rally with a half-dozen Saints runs lifted them to a victory in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader. Trailing 7-6 to start the bottom of the sixth, sophomore Olivia Conti (Cranston, R.I.) tied things up with her team-leading 11^th home run of the season, a solo shot to left field.
• The inning continued with the next three Saints reaching safely, loading the bases for EC. First-year Madison Marks (Edgewater Park, N.J.) stepped in and delivered a two-out, two-run single into right field, giving the Saints a 9-7 lead.
• A pinch runner for Marks and stolen base for junior Tianna Dawe (Lynn, Mass.) put two in scoring position for first-year Abigail Farr (Windsor Locks, Conn.) to deliver her own two-run hit, a double into the left-center gap, upping the EC lead to 11-7. Farr scored later on an RBI single by senior Abigail Conley (Riverside, R.I.), finishing off the six-run bottom of the sixth with Emmanuel leading 12-7.
• Emmanuel led throughout the early innings, but a three-run fourth inning, followed by a pair of runs in the top of the fifth helped Albertus Magnus take their first lead of the afternoon.
• The Falcons trailed 5-2 starting the fourth but quickly erased the deficit after an RBI single by junior Janelle Franklin (Middletown, Conn.), followed by a two-run double to left-center field by junior Peyton Davis (North Haven, Conn.), tying the game at 5-5.
• The Saints added a run in the bottom of the fourth on a solo home run by senior Kiana Hinson (Whittier, Calif.), but Albertus Magnus took their first lead of the afternoon in the top of the fifth on a game-tying sacrifice fly by junior Ava Gladwin (Guilford, Conn.), followed by an RBI, infield single for senior Ivy Geloso (Beacon Falls, Conn.), that gave AMC a 7-6 edge.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS (GAME 1)

• The Saints put up a season-high 16 hits in the game one victory. Marks and Hinson both finished 3-for-4 with a double and a home run. Marks added three RBI while Hinson produced a pair of RBI.
• Conti finished 2-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored. The solo shot set the new EC single-season home run record at 11 as Conti surpassed Yuleska Ramirez-Tejeda's '20 mark of 10 from her 2019 Player of the Year campaign.
• Senior Avery Webb (Hollis, N.H.) and Farr each recorded a double, going 2-for-3 and 2-for-4, respectively.
• Dawe earned the victory, improving to 13-5 after allowing seven runs, just one earned, on 10 hits.
• Geloso and Franklin both batted 3-for-5 for the Falcons. Each also added an RBI in the defeat.
• Junior Karissa Kerrs (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) batted 1-for-4 with a solo home run in the second.
• First-year Ema Signore (Guilford, Conn.) came in to pitch four innings of relief, leaving with the loss to fall to 1-2 after allowing seven runs on eight hits. Senior Erin Dighello (Wallington, Conn.) pitched the first two innings but takes a no decision.

HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME 2)

• With the Saints poised for another doubleheader sweep, it was the Falcons that used a high-scoring fifth inning, paired with a seventh inning home run, to hand Emmanuel their first loss in 20 games.
• EC led 9-2 entering the fifth, but AMC was far from down, putting up seven runs to tie the game at 9-9. The rally began with three straight hits, matched with some Saints miscues, to cut the Falcons deficit to 9-4.
• An RBI groundout by Kerrs would put two outs on the board and Albertus Magnus down 9-5. Three batters later, with runners on the corners, first-year Colleen Edwards (Clinton, Conn.) hit a two-run double to right field, inching the Falcons closer, as they now trailed 9-7.
• Edwards would go on to later score on a Saints error, leaving AMC down one. The seven-run rally was completed by Geloso and an RBI double to right-center field, tying the game 9-9.
• Still tied at 9-9 entering the top of the seventh, senior Jessica Stettinger (East Haven, Conn.) delivered the game-deciding run on a solo homer to left field to lead off the inning and give AMC a 10-9 lead.
• Emmanuel still had a chance to respond in the bottom of the inning, loading the bases with one out. With the Falcons infield in, AMC got their second out of the inning on a close play at the plate after Edwards, the shortstop, threw out Saints junior Julyanne Pacheco (Somerset, Mass.) preserving the one-run Falcons lead.
• Webb had an opportunity with the bases still loaded and two outs, but on a 2-2 count, AMC first-year pitcher Skylar Arent (New Fairfield, Conn.) struck out Webb swinging, giving Albertus Magnus a split of Saturday's doubleheader.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS (GAME 2)

• Geloso, Franklin, Arent, Stettinger, and Edwards all had two hits, accounting for each of the Falcons 10 hits in game two.
• Stettinger was 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, and two runs scored.
• Franklin batted 2-for-4 while Geloso was 2-for-5, each contributing two RBI in the victory.
• Arent added the win, improving to 13-3 despite allowing nine runs, seven earned, on 12 hits.
• Conti finished 3-for-5, all singles, with two runs scored. Senior Grace Orcutt (Lexington, Mass.) went 3-for-4, all singles, adding three RBI.
• Unlike in game one for EC with seven extra base hits, the Saints were held without an extra base hit in game two, despite 12 hits in the loss.
• First-year Brenna Whittaker (Cranston, R.I.) gets the loss, falling to 8-5 on the year.

UP NEXT

• The Saints hold the GNAC North Division's No. 1 seed in the upcoming postseason and will host the GNAC Softball Championships, starting Thursday, May 5. Dependent on results, the Saints opening round GNAC Tournament game will come Thursday night against the North's Division No. 2 Simmons, No. 3 Saint Joseph's College, or No. 4 Rivier.
• The Falcons hold the GNAC South Division's No. 1 seed for the postseason and will host a pair of Thursday games at Shea Softball Field. Dependent on results, the Falcons opening round GNAC Tournament game will be against either the South's Division No. 2 Johnson & Wales, No. 3 University of Saint Joseph, or No. 4 Regis.
• Teams that advance past Thursday's round of games will head to Emmanuel and Clemente Field for the remainder of the GNAC Championships on Saturday, May 7 and Sunday, May 8.