Hurlers Izzy Melanson and Sofia Berryhill controlled the circle in their respective games, as the St. Lawrence University softball team earned a doubleheader sweep over Plattsburgh State on a sunny Tuesday afternoon at Saints Softball Field in Canton, N.Y.
Both pitchers threw complete games, with Melanson earning the first complete-game shutout of her collegiate career, and allowed a combined one run and eight hits over both games. Offensively, four different Saints connected for two or more hits.
"We started off our warm up with strong energy and I knew it was going to be a great day," said Rosie Phillips, Saints softball head coach. "Pitchers and defense were lights out and our offense came together for a few clutch innings. We're continuing to play as a team in every aspect and I'm excited to see how our team-first mindset is paying off as we head into an important conference weekend."
St. Lawrence improves to 13-6 on the year as the team gears up for Liberty League action with just one non-conference doubleheader remaining against SUNY Potsdam. Plattsburgh State moves to 5-9 as they also enter league play in the upcoming days.
Game 1: St. Lawrence 5, Plattsburgh State 0
St. Lawrence packed the sacks with one out in the bottom of the first after working three straight walks. The Cardinals managed to get out of the inning unscathed, however, as starting pitcher Carly Gemmett forced two straight swinging strikeouts to work her way out of the jam and keep the score level.
In the bottom of the second, the Saints bats sprang to life following a Caelen Jahnle walk with two outs. That turned the lineup over for Maeve Thompson, and she made good on her opportunity. She smashed a two-out double to the gap in right-center bringing Jahnle around to score from first base.
In the next at-bat, Vivian Johnson launched a flyball over the center fielder's head for an RBI double of her own, bringing Thompson in from second and doubling the Saints' lead. Determined to keep the two-out rally alive with a runner on second, Allison Kloft placed a perfect swing just under the diving third baseman's glove to bring Johnson home from second, expanding the Saints advantage to 3-0.
The Saints managed to tack on two more in the bottom half of the fourth. With runners on first and second and two outs, Olivia Caporale connected on a 1-0 pitch and drove a line drive double to the fence in left field allowing Kloft and Thompson to both score.
Kloft and Caporale led the Saints at the plate with two hits each while Johnson, Thompson, Jahnle and Zoe Devenport all connected for one apiece.
Gemmett was handed the loss in the circle surrendering eight hits and five walks while striking out seven.
Melanson produced a gem on the rubber for the Saints, tossing a complete game, while allowing just four Cardinals to reach base with four hits and no walks. The first year from Norfolk, Mass. earned her third win of the campaign while posting her best hits allowed number (4) for the year when pitching more than three innings.
Game 2: St. Lawrence 3, Plattsburgh State 1
St. Lawrence came close to opening the scoring early once again in the second game as Thompson reached on a fielding error by the Cardinals shortstop and stole second on a close throw. Kloft would then rope a single through the right-side putting runners on the corners before stealing second on the next pitch. With runners on second and third, the next two batters were forced into flyouts as the game remained even.
The game motored along with no score until the bottom of the fourth. Meredith Rose led the inning off with a single up the middle and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Starting pitcher Berryhill then helped herself with a single to right center, advancing Rose to third before stealing second on the next pitch.
With runners on second and third, Zola Braswell poked the third straight single through the left-side, scoring Rose as Berryhill moved to third. Caporale doubled the lead with two outs, sending a sharp grounder towards the shortstop who chose to get the out at first, allowing Berryhill to score, pushing the Saints lead to 2-0.
St. Lawrence added another run in the bottom of the sixth as Sofia Camillieri would score off a Caporale single through the left side. With runners still on first and second, Plattsburgh forced a groundout to the third baseman to prevent further damage.
Plattsburgh State pushed across their first run of the day in the top of the seventh.Sara Isaacs led the inning off with a triple and scored on the following play off a sacrifice fly.
Rose and Braswell both registered two-hit games at the plate for the Saints as four other players chipped in one each. Caporale drove in two RBI, and Braswell had one.
Berryhill ended the day allowing just four hits and one run over seven innings of work. The junior from Pleasant Hill, Calif. struck out five while walking just one as she picked up her fifth win on the year. That sets a new career-high for wins, beating her previous best of four in 2022.
Next up:
The Scarlet and Brown return to action on the road this upcoming weekend. They head to Rochester, N.Y. on Friday, April 12 and Saturday, April 13, taking on RIT and Rochester in Liberty League play. Games will begin at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. at RIT, while on Saturday, first pitches are slated for 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
