The St. Lawrence University softball team earned a split of their doubleheader against Oswego State Saturday afternoon.
They ran into some strong pitching in game one, dropping their first shutout loss of the season 7-0, before rebounding with a 9-4 win in the latter half of the afternoon.
"We faced good pitching in game one that were late catching up on, but we responded well with a big inning in the second game," said
Rosie Phillips, the Saints' head coach. "We aren't staying complacent with a split and are ready to take two in our next series."
Maeve Thompson led the way with three hits and three RBI with a walk, while
Emily Siansky also delivered three knocks while chipping in with two ribbies.
Allison Kloft also had three hits.
With the results, St. Lawrence continues the trend of improvement, sitting with an 8-5 record on the 2024 season. The team has equaled its 2023 win total prior to the home opener, which is scheduled for Monday afternoon.
Game 1: Oswego 7, St. Lawrence 0
The game began with the two starting pitchers, Oswego's Fiona Higgins and St. Lawrence's
Izzy Melanson, duking it out. Five of the game's first six batters struck out swinging, and each pitcher had fanned three batters after the first inning of play.
The first bout of offense in the game came in the bottom of the third inning when the Lakers loaded the bases and Higgins helped herself.
She sent a dribbler third-base side to score the opening run of the game on an infield single, then Mackenzie Carlson came around after an errant throw home got to the backstop. Oswego would tack on another run via a sac fly from Ellie Mahoney, then Lily Fanea singled home Higgins to make it 5-0 after three innings.
Oswego added two more runs to bring the score to 7-0, and they preserved their shutout through a complete-game shutout by Higgins. She allowed two hits, one walk and struck out nine over her 93-pitch effort.
Izzy Melanson got the loss for the Saints, going two and two-thirds' innings, allowing three earned runs on six hits. While she got charged with the loss, she didn't allow a walk and added five K's.
Game 2: Oswego 4, St. Lawrence 9
The Saints were not stymied offensively in the second game of the doubleheader. They had one of their most productive innings of the season in the second, plating seven runs to go up big early in the contest.
Olivia Caporale got the offense started with her second double of the season. Phillips went to the bench for a pinch runner, tapping
Stella VanGee. The former all-conference athlete advanced to third on a passed ball, then
Emily Siansky lined a single up the middle to bring VanGee home and make it 1-0.
The bottom of the order continued to produce with some small-ball plays to load up the bases as the lineup turned over for
Maeve Thompson, and the first-year from Burlington, Canada made no mistake. She roped a double into left-center field to score Siansky and
Zoe Davenport.
Higgins then re-entered the fold to try and stop the bleeding, but the Saints continued the rally.
Vivian Johnson reached via a hit by pitch, then the next three consecutive batters all singled, with
Meredith Rose and
Sofia Camillieri registering driving in runs. Rose and Camillieri then teamed up for a double steal that resulted in Rose swiping home. Once all was said and done, the Saints led 7-0.
With the score now at 8-1, the Lakers added three runs in the bottom of the fifth to cut the Saints' lead to four via a two-out double by Jenna Mills. But
Sofia Berryhill induced a flyout on the next at-bat to end the threat.
Siansky added her second RBI of the afternoon in the sixth to extend the Saints' lead to 9-4. Rose kicked off the inning by lifting a fly ball down the left field line and legging out a double, then Camillieri moved her 60 feet away and Siansky drove her in.
Berryhill scattered two Oswego hits in her last two innings of work to lock down then win for the Saints, and earning the split of the twin bill.
Next up:
The Scarlet and Brown will enjoy an off-day Sunday before re-taking the field for their home opener at Saints Softball Field Monday afternoon. They host SUNY Poly for a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.
