Allison Kloft went 5-for-8 with two RBIs,
Marleigh Monroe tossed five innings without allowing an earned run, and the St. Lawrence University softball team began their 2025 season on a high note at Fortune Road Athletic Complex in Kissimmee, Fla..
They move to 2-0 after downing New England College 6-2 and SUNY Brockport 5-4, both in seven innings in their Spring Games opener.
Kloft, a sophomore playing at third base, was one of two Saints to record five hits on the day.
Maeve Thompson also smacked five of them in eight at-bats, including two doubles. Kloft added a triple to her stat line.
"It's great starting off the season with two wins, especially coming from behind in both," said Saints head coach
Rosie Phillips. "We remained even keeled on offense, but struggled at times to push runs across and stay consistent in scoring. We had some clutch hitting that helped push us ahead when it mattered. Our pitchers had a great combined effort today, and worked out of some jams that were key in keeping momentum in our favor. We're feeling good heading into tomorrow."
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Game 1: St. Lawrence 6, New England 2
New England quickly added two runs to open the scoring in the first inning off an error, but Monroe quickly composed herself in her first collegiate outing and got out of the jam.
The Saints responded in the top of the second.
Stella VanGee began the inning by taking advantage of a New England error at third base, reaching first. Â
Layne Fritz then roped a double into deep right-center field and scored the speedy VanGee all the way from first to cut the New England lead in half.
The game remained at 2-1 until the top of the third inning, when the Saints loaded up the bases with one out. VanGee then put a ball in play, which scored
Vivian Johnson from third base to tie the game on the fielder's choice.
The game remained at a deadlock until the top of the seventh, when the Saints strung some hit together and ultimately brought four runs across the plate in the game's final inning. Jahnle kicked the inning off with a leadoff infield single, and then scored on a monster double from Thompson out to left-center field. A bunt single from Kloft then brought Thompson around.
Shortly after,
Sofia Camillieri hit a single which proceeded to bring VanGee home for the second time in the game. The Saints held the Pilgrims scoreless in the bottom of the seventh to end the game.
VanGee had two hits, along with two RBIs to lead the team. Kloft led the team in hits with three and also tacked on an RBI, while Thompson had two hits and one RBI.
Monroe and
Sofia Berryhill shared the circle in the contest, with Monroe tossing three and two-thirds innings. She allowed five hits in her first collegiate appearance, but no earned runs, and also fanned three. Berryhill came in relief, allowing two hits, no runs, walked one and struck out one. She was awarded the victory.
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Game 2: SUNY Brockport 4, St. Lawrence 5
The first inning began in similar fashion to the Saints' first game, the opposing side taking a lead. Kellie Gentile doubled to left-center field to kick the game off, then scored on an RBI single right after. Brockport added another run to make it 2-0 at the break.
But the Saints had a response immediately. In the bottom of the first, Thompson singled to second base to get on with a lead-off knock. Kloft then singled up the middle to bring Thompson around, putting St. Lawrence within one.
With the score at 4-1 Brockport in the fifth, St. Lawrence put another strong inning together to pull out front against their cross-state foes. Jahnle began the inning with a lead-off single to left field. Thompson then doubled to left-center, which put two runners in scoring position. After Jahnle scored on a passed ball to cut the Brockport lead down to two, Johnson hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Thompson to make it 4-3.
The Saints then relied on their underclassmen to pull ahead in the late stages of the game. Kloft kept the rally going, firing a triple into the left field corner for her first extra-base knock of the 2025 campaign, putting a runner on for pinch hitter
Madison Connelly. The first-year then brought her home with an RBI double on her first collegiate hit to tie the game at 4-4. After a VanGee double put Connelly on third, first-year
Marina Juan connected on a sacrifice fly, with Connelly scoring to give the Saints the lead.
The Saints held off Brockport in the sixth and the seventh to close out the game and win 5-4.
Thompson led the team in hits with three while Kloft had two. Kloft, Johnson, Connelly, and Juan all recorded one RBI each. Berryhill was once again in the circle for St. Lawrence, as she was awarded with another win.
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Up Next:
The Saints will look to build a win streak Monday morning, as they face Babson at 9 a.m. and Blackburn (Ill.) right after at 11:30 p.m. in Clermont, Fla.
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