Marina Juan had five hits, including two runs against Keuka, and
Marleigh Monroe had a 107-pitch complete game against Ramapo, and the St. Lawrence University softball team concluded their trip to THE Spring Games in Clermont, Fl. with a 5-0 loss to Ramapo and a 14-0 victory over Keuka on Friday.
The split of the twin bill brings the Saints' overall record to 6-4 on the season as they return to the North Country and get set to open their home schedule next weekend.
"We accomplished what we set out to do this week – get better, and grow as a team," said Saints head coach
Rosie Phillips. "We faced a good Ramapo team in our first game, but could have kept ourselves in it with some cleaner defense against their small ball and a grittier approach in the box. I'm proud we took care of business on all fronts in our second game. I'm excited to see what this team does as we return back north."
Following their 10 games in the Sunshine State, sophomore third baseman
Allison Kloft leads the Scarlet and Brown in OPS (1.132), hits (17), and RBIs (10).
Emily Wendt has a team-high three stolen bases in three attempts. In the circle,
Sofia Berryhill's 2.55 ERA is lowest on the team and the senior hurler is 4-0. Monroe has four complete games with a team-high 24 strikeouts.
Game 1: Ramapo 5, St. Lawrence 0
After a three-up, three-down first inning for both sides, Ramapo took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second. With a runner on second, Hannah Hensler bunted for Ramapo and the runner from second came around on a fielding error to open the scoring.
Both pitchers continued to cruise through their outings until the fourth when the Roadrunners made it 2-0 on an RBI from Hensler. She connected with a single through the left side of the infield to score the baserunner from 60 feet away.
The Saints only had one hit through four innings, but
Leah VerSchneider broke that streak in the fifth with a line drive knock into center field. Following the first-year catcher, sophomore
Caelen Jahnle put VerSchneider in scoring position with another hit – the first back-to-back singles of the morning for the Saints. They would strand both runners, however, and the score remained 2-0.
Ramapo then tacked on three additional runs in their half of the fifth inning to put the Saints down 5-0. Despite a hit from
Madison Connelly and Juan's second hit of the day, St. Lawrence dropped their second game in a row 5-0.
Marleigh Monroe went the distance in the circle, battling against a formidable opponent. She allowed six hits, five runs (three earned), walked three, and struck out four. Offensively, Juan went 2-for-3 with a double.
Game 2: St. Lawrence 14, Keuka 0
After a defensive battle in game one, the Saints' offense came out in a productive manner when they took the field against Keuka. In the top of the first inning,
Vivian Johnson led the game off with a triple into the right field corner, then Wendt reached base on a fielding error in the infield to put two runners on with nobody out.
Allison Kloft put a ball in play on the third base side, and then two runs scored on a second error.
Keuka then looked for a response, loading up the bases with one out in the bottom of the first off back-to-back singles and a walk. The Saints worked out of it, though, as starting pitcher Berryhill induced a ground ball and flipped it to the plate for a fielder's choice, then forced another groundout to third to get out of the inning unscathed.
Following that, the Saints busted the game open with two big innings in the third and fifth. They sent five batters home in the third, with Johnson, Kloft, Wendt, Juan and
Stella VanGee coming around to score. VerSchneider and Connelly had the RBIs in the inning.
In the fifth, 13 batters had plate appearances for St. Lawrence, as they stretched their 8-0 lead up to 14-0. First, Juan got on with another hit, then VerSchneider doubled to left field to score her from first. After catcher
Emily Crain got on with a walk and advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch, Johnson drove her and VerSchneider in with a single on the ground through the right side. That made it 11-0.
The Saints then received two more singles, one from Wendt, and a two-run knock by Kloft.
Quinn Jerome later drove in Kloft with a sacrifice fly in her first plate appearance of the game. That was the final scoring of the game.
Berryhill tossed the game's first two innings before being replaced by
Izzy Melanson. The sophomore from Norfolk, Mass. pitched two innings in relief and received the victory, allowing two hits, zero runs and walking two while striking out one batter. It's her first victory of 2025.
Three different Saints – Connelly, Kloft and VerSchneider – tied for the team lead in RBIs with three. Johnson led the team with three hits, also adding two RBIs and a walk.
Up Next:
St. Lawrence's spring trip has now finished, and they are set to host Oswego State on Saturday, March 29 for their first home doubleheader of the season at Saints Softball Field.
