Marleigh Monroe tossed her first-career complete game in game one against Nazareth, and
Allison Kloft added two hits with four RBIs in game two, as the St. Lawrence University softball team beat Nazareth 5-2 and SUNY Old Westbury 8-2 on Wednesday in Clermont, Fla.
The wins bring the Saints' record up to 4-2 on the season.
"Two great wins for the Saints today. Our team really gelled -- we played pristine defensively not committing a single error, and our pitchers combined for awesome outings," said Saints head coach
Rosie Phillips. "Not only did we have a strong offensive day, but we had some great scenarios on the bases that we were able to capitalize on. All in all, it was a successful day for the group and we're ready to get back on the field for the rest of this week."
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Game 1: Nazareth 2, St. Lawrence 5
St. Lawrence would plate the first five runs of the game in their opening contest against Nazareth, and their first offensive production came in the bottom of the second. With one out,
Marina Juan and
Leah VerSchneider posted back-to-back singles.
Phillips then subbed
Quinn Jerome in on the base paths for the catcher VerSchneider, and
Maeve Thompson drove Juan in with a single to right field, then Jerome came around while Thompson got caught in a rundown.
In the meantime, Monroe was commanding the game from the circle, striking out six batters in a row between the first and the third inning. The first-year right-hander eventually rode her strong performance to a victory, throwing seven complete innings and allowing four hits, two earned runs, one walk, and ended the game with eight strikeouts.
In the third inning, St. Lawrence added to their lead. After Kloft singled up the middle, Nazareth's pitcher made a throwing error which put Kloft on second and
Madison Connelly on first.
Sofia Camillieri then reached on another Nazareth fielding error, which plated Kloft and made the score 3-0 St. Lawrence. Connelly would come around on a Juan RBI knock on the next at-bat, and the Saints held a 4-0 lead heading to the fourth.
The Saints added a fifth run when
Layne Fritz came around to score on a passed ball. Nazareth would add their only runs of the contest in the sixth, off a two-run double by Kaijah Alexander.
Four different Saints – Connelly, Kloft, Juan and VerSchneider – all registered two hits, with VerSchneider posting the first two base hits of her collegiate career.
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Game 2: SUNY Old Westbury 2, St. Lawrence 8
The game remained scoreless until the top of the third, when for the second time on the day, St. Lawrence notched the opening runs of the game. Thompson kicked the inning off with a leadoff infield single, then was subbed for
Vivian Johnson who advanced to second and third on back-to-back passed balls.
Emily Wendt then registered her first collegiate RBI on a single up the middle, driving Johnson home to give St. Lawrence the 1-0 lead. Later in the inning,
Stella VanGee was caught in a rundown trying to steal second, and Wendt, now on third base, made a beeline for home plate and touched home before VanGee was tagged out to make it 2-0.
In the top of the fourth,
Caelen Jahnle fired a hot shot down to third base and it glanced off the fielder's glove, allowing Juan to score from third. That made it 3-0, then later in the inning Kloft stepped up to the plate with the bases juiced and lined a single into right field to score score Johnson and Jahnle.
The Saints would add three more insurance runs to create an 8-0 cushion heading to the seventh inning, when Old Westbury scored their only two runs of the game.
Sofia Berryhill got the victory for St. Lawrence in the circle, tossing five complete innings without allowing a run, or walking anyone. She struck out two.
Izzy Melanson came on in relief and through two innings, allowing three hits, two runs, two walks and struck out one.
Offensively, the top three players in the Scarlet and Brown batting order each had multi-hit afternoons. Thompson went 2-for-2 before coming out of the game, and Johnson went 3-for-3 with three runs scored after subbing for Thompson in the leadoff spot. Wendt went 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Kloft had a monster day with four RBIs.
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Up Next:
St. Lawrence continues their Spring Games run in Florida with two more games Thursday against Bates and Southern Maine. The first game, against Southern Maine, gets underway bright and early at 9 a.m.
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