Strong finishes by the Wesleyan Cardinals and the Endicott Gulls led to an 0-2 opening day for the St. Lawrence softball team Sunday in Clermont, Fla.
Meredith Rose and
Allison Kloft were the standouts for the Saints at the plate. Kloft went 3-for-5 on the day while Rose was 3-for-6 and had a triple to go along with two RBI.
Izzy Melanson got the nod in the second game in her first collegiate appearance on the mound and gave the Saints five-plus innings of work, surrendering two earned runs while striking out six.
Game 1: St. Lawrence 2, Wesleyan 12
Junior
Sofia Berryhill, the Saints leader in innings pitched last year, got the ball as the starter in the opening game.
Both teams showcased their offense early in the opening frame, with Wesleyan plating three runs and St. Lawrence getting a pair. The Cardinals got back-to-back singles followed by a three-run home run to put the score at 3-0. St. Lawrence responded in the bottom half of the inning with two runs of their own. A single by
Vivian Johnson and a walk by Kloft set up an at bat for Rose.
The senior captain delivered with a triple, resulting in two runs batted in as the scoreboard now showed just a one-run deficit.
Wesleyan responded with a big second inning by adding two more runs off a double and a pair of singles to expand the lead to 5-2, ending the morning for Berryhill as the Scarlet and Brown now turned to Fritz.
Layne Fritz was largely effective filling in for Berryhill. The second-year hurler from Stafford, Va. pitched two and two-thirds' innings, allowing just a single unearned run and two hits to hold the Cardinals in check. Wesleyan then added some runs in the fifth, making the score 7-2.
A walk and seven hits resulted in five additional runs for Wesleyan to put the game out of reach at 12-2 in the sixth.
The Saints were held scoreless from the second inning onward with only a pair of singles from Johnson in the third, and Rose in the sixth.
In the bottom half of the sixth, the aforementioned Rose single to leadoff the inning gave the Scarlet and Brown some light but the Cardinals retired the next three batters, resulting in a premature 10-run defeat in six innings.
Game 2: St. Lawrence 2, Endicott 10
In the second game of the season, the Scarlet and Brown turned to first-year Melanson on the rubber.
The Saints struck first in this matchup. In the top of the first inning, the Gulls got the first two outs quickly, but the Saints didn't let up. Kloft and Rose had back-to-back singles, then Melanson walked to load the bases for Berryhill. The junior from Pleasant Hill, Calif. hit a pop-up right behind the pitcher's mound that was dropped by the shortstop. The error allowed both Kloft and Rose to cross the plate, giving the Saints a 2-0 first inning lead.
The next few innings were highlighted with stellar pitching from both sides. Neither team threatened much and Melanson was on point in her first ever start. The Norfolk, Mass. native got into trouble with a two-out triple in the fourth, but she struck out the next batter to preserve the 2-0 lead.
Endicott came alive in the fifth, registering four straight singles followed by a sacrifice fly tied the score at two apiece. Melanson got out of the jam by getting a ground ball to strand two runners and keep the game tied.
After Melanson surrendered a leadoff walk in the sixth, the Saints turned to the veteran
Sofia Berryhill. Following two St. Lawrence errors, RBI singles, and two home runs from Endicott led the Gulls to an eight-run sixth inning ending the game in the sixth inning.
A lone single by Kloft was the only hit the Scarlet and Brown had beyond the first.
Next up:
The Saints will continue their Florida trip on Monday, facing Washington & Jefferson at 9 a.m. followed by Bates College at 11:30.
