Olivia Zoeller and Sam Mennig threw complete game shutouts to lead the Clarkson University softball team to 5-0 and 7-0 wins over St. Lawrence University in a Liberty League doubleheader at Saints Softball Field on Sunday.
Zoeller struck out 10 in the opener and allowed just three hits, while Mennig struck out five and allowed four hits.
Raeanna Dunn, Kyrstin Messier and Kayla Robert all had three hits on the day for Clarkson, which improved to 19-11 overall and 4-4 in the Liberty League.
Elle Gray,
Taylor Armijo and
Skylar Hein each had two hits to lead the Saints, who fell to 10-12, 0-8.
Clarkson 5, St. Lawrence 0
Dunn led off the game with an infield hit and stole second and third before scoring on an RBI groundout by Liz Caggiano to give the Golden Knights an early 1-0 lead. Clarkson doubled its lead in the fifth on an RBI triple by Danielle Whitham, then put the game away with three more runs in the sixth. Robert hit an RBI double to center, Maddie Brink followed with an RBI single to left, and Rylee LeBourveau added a sacrifice fly to cap the scoring.
Robert was 2-for-3 to lead the Golden Knights' offense, while Dunn scored two runs and stole three bases.
Gray was 2-for-3 for St. Lawrence.
Zoeller retired 11 straight batters for Clarkson from the third through sixth innings before Gray and
Angelina Carney had back-to-back hits with two outs in the sixth, but Zoeller retired the next four batters she faced to put the game away.
Caroline Young took the loss, allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits and one walk with two strikeouts in five-plus innings.
McKailey Lyndaker allowed one run on two hits over the final two innings.
Clarkson 7, St. Lawrence 0
The Golden Knights scored all seven of their runs in the top of the seventh inning to sweep the Saints. LeBourveau and Dunn hit infield RBI singles, Whitham hit a two-run triple, Caggiano hit an RBI single to left center, and Messier hit a two-run double to center to turn a scoreless game into a 7-0 lead for the Golden Knights.
The Saints had an opportunity to get an early run after loading the bases with one out in the second inning, but Mennig was able to strike out one batter and induce an infield pop up to retire the side.
St. Lawrence had a runner in scoring position in the third inning and once again in the fifth, but was unable to capitalize.
Caggiano was 2-for-3 for Clarkson, while Messier and Dunn were both 2-for-4. Dunn added two more stolen bases to finish with five on the day.Â
Hein was 2-for-3 for the Saints, while Armijo was 2-for-4 and also made several outstanding defensive plays center field.
Slater took the loss, allowing four runs on eight hits with two walks and a strikeout in seven innings pitched. Young came on in relief in the seventh and allowed three runs on three hits before Slater returned to the circle to finish the game.
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