April 27, 2012
Softball Wins Another Playoff Game
WENHAM, Mass. – Kristina Torres (Groton, Conn.) struck out 10 and was backed by a late rally as eighth-seeded Saint Joseph College defeated No. 4 Johnson & Wales 2-0 Friday in the GNAC Tournament at Gordon College.
Saint Joseph lost later in the day to Emerson, 17-0 in five innings. The Blue Jays will play Norwich Saturday at Gordon at 10 a.m. in a loser's bracket game. A victory in that game would advance Saint Joseph (19-22) to a 4 p.m. game, while a loss would knock it from the double-elimination tournament.
In Friday's opener, Torres and Taylor Cwalinski for Johnson & Wales were both hard to hit and each took a shutout into the seventh inning. Ashley Gall (Stafford Springs, Conn.) singled up the middle to lead off the top of the seventh for Saint Joseph and Shauna Sullivan (Rocky Hill, Conn.) singled through the left side to move Gall to second. Sarah Miller (Southington, Conn.) bunted the runners over and Ashley Stokes (Middletown, Conn.) delivered a clutch single to left to drive in Gall for the first run of the game. Sarah Cousens (Plainfield, Conn.) had a sacrifice fly to score Sullivan with the second run.
Johnson & Wales (26-15) got five hits, but went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position against Torres, who struck out the final two batters of the game with a runner on base. The victory was the second of the tournament for the Blue Jays and the second time they have beaten a team they were swept by in the regular season.
Alexandra Magistro (Hackettstown, N.J.) hit three home runs and drove in six for No. 1 Emerson (31-7) in the late game.
