Softball Season Ends After 32 Wins
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Joseph (Conn.) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
|
Saint Joseph's (Me.) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | X | 4 | 9 | 1 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Joseph (Conn.) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 1 |
|
Suffolk | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | X | 5 | 10 | 0 |
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The University of Saint Joseph softball team suffered two losses Saturday and the Blue Jays were eliminated from the Great Northeast Athletic Conference tournament at USJ.
The third-seeded Blue Jays, who were one of the final three teams remaining, lost to No. 4 St. Joseph's College of Maine, 4-0 and No. 8 Suffolk, 5-3. USJ finished 32-12 and set a school record for wins in a season.
St. Joseph's College (32-9) will face Suffolk (16-24) in Sunday's final round at noon. Suffolk has one loss in the double-elimination format and would need to win two games; one win by St. Joseph's would give the Monks their third consecutive GNAC championship.
The day began with Suffolk winning an elimination game against No. 7 Rivier, 11-4. Suffolk scored a run the first and six in the second to take control. Paige Stanley (Fair Haven, N.J.) had a two-run double and Erin McAndrew (Marblehead, Mass.) a three-run homer in the rally. Nicole Rosa (Wallingford, Conn.) and Julia Ludvigsen (Dedham, Mass.) each had three hits for Suffolk. Kirstie Clark (Brentwood, N.H.) homered and Hillary Tarr (N. Easton, Mass.) had two hits for Rivier (16-21).
St. Joseph's College then defeated the Blue Jays 4-0 in the winner's bracket final. Rae-Marie Copan (Newton, Mass.) allowed two hits, no walks and struck out seven in a complete-game win. Emily Hummel (Hebron, Conn.) had a first-inning single for USJ, Stephanie Valerio (Wolcott, Conn.) had a seventh-inning single and in between Copan retired 16 batters in a row. Lindsay Moore (Barrington, N.H.) had an RBI-single in the third for the Monks and an RBI-single in the fifth. Connie Crovo (Limington, Maine) had two hits and two runs scored for St. Joseph's.
Suffolk then eliminated the Blue Jays in a 5-3 game. The Rams took a 3-0 lead in the second inning. Ludvigsen had a bunt single to lead off and Meredith Ball (Nahant, Mass.) a one-out RBI-triple for the first run. Nikki Cignarella (Norwood, Mass.) had a bunt single to scored Ball and she scored on a double from Brooke Brandt (St. Paul, Minn.)
USJ got one back in the fourth. Hummel and Patti Sciglimpaglia (Norwalk, Conn.) singled and Mary Sciglimpaglia (Norwalk, Conn.) drove in Hummel with a two-out single. Suffolk pushed its lead to 5-1 in the fifth. McAndrew had an RBI-double and later scored on an error.
The Blue Jays went down swinging and scored two runs in the seventh. Patti Sciglimpaglia walked and Mary Sciglimpaglia singled. Emily Vigue (Lebanon, Conn.) singled to right to score on run and Shauna Sullivan (Rocky Hill, Conn.) hit into a force out to score another. But that would conclude the scoring. Sarah Chasse (Salem, Mass.) pitched six innings for her second win of the day and Alicia Gonnella (Bridgewater, N.J.) got the final three outs for a save.