Both
Allison Kloft and
Marina Juan posted three RBIs over two games, and four different Saints had multi-hit performances in game two, as the St. Lawrence University softball team played to a split of their road doubleheader against Division II squad Saint Michael's on Wednesday. They fell in game one 6-2 before blowing out the Purple Knights 13-4 in five innings.
The split of the doubleheader brings their record to 7-5 on the 2025 campaign as they kick off their conference schedule later this week against Clarkson.
"Although we scored first in the first game, we had a tough time producing outs and gave ourselves away by not being able to string hits together consistently," said Saints head coach
Rosie Phillips. "Our goal in the second game was to break the cycle of scoring first and then expecting to coast, and we did exactly that. Although we didn't play our best defense in either game, we were able to learn from game one and stop the bleeding in key situations in game two. I'm excited for the momentum this win will bring into our first conference weekend."
The Saints' win in the second game was their largest margin of victory against a Division II opponent in program history. It was their first win against a Division II opponent since St. Lawrence downed NYIT 2-1 on May 4, 2003.
Game 1: St. Lawrence 2, Saint Michael's 6
The first game of the day saw the Scarlet and Brown cross the plate first, and they didn't waste much time.
Vivian Johnson led off the game with a base hit down the first base line.
Emily Wendt then dropped down a bunt on the third base side and the throw was dropped at first by the covering second baseman to put two runners on with nobody out. Kloft then drove in Johnson from second by lacing a groundball through the infield and into the left field corner, earning her first RBI.
With Wendt going first to third on the Kloft extra-base knock,
Madison Connelly stepped up to the plate with two runners in scoring position and nobody out. The designated player drove Wendt in with a sac fly to make it 2-0 St. Lawrence.
In the bottom half of the inning, the Purple Knights earned some payback on the Saints. After a groundout from the leadoff hitter, Vaughn singled through the left side and the Purple Knights hitters then worked back-to-back base on balls to load up the bases.
A base hit from CJ Davidson then brought the first run of the game around for Saint Michael's. The next batter, Maddy Booska, came up with the bases still loaded she grounded a ball past the diving shortstop Johnson to bring another run in to tie the game at 2-2, then a throwing error allowed two more runs to cross the plate. Saint Michael's led it 4-2 at the end of an eventful opening inning.
From there, the scoring dried up. Saint Michael's added a single run in both their second and third innings to make the score 6-2, but that was the extent of the scoring for the remainder of the contest. St. Lawrence got closest to trimming down the lead in the fifth when
Leah VerSchneider walked and was subbed out for
Layne Fritz on the basepaths. Fritz advanced to second on a
Caelen Jahnle sac bunt, then advanced to third on a foul out, but wasn't able to make the jog to the plate before the inning was over.
In the circle,
Sofia Berryhill tossed three and one-thirds innings in relief, and shut down the Purple Knights allowing no runs, no walks, one hit, and striking out two.
Marleigh Monroe was saddled with the loss in game one.
Game 2: St. Lawrence 13, Saint Michael's 4
The Scarlet and Brown again got out front early in the second game, but this time by five.
St. Lawrence batted around in the first inning. It began with Johnson putting herself on third base with a leadoff triple to kick off the game. Jahnle then walked and stole second, and Kloft drove Johnson in to open the scoring.
The Saints then got the bases loaded with a Juan hit by pitch, then Fritz worked the RBI walk to make it 2-0. VerSchneider then wore another pitch, which brought around Kloft to make it 3-0. A Wendt single then scored two runs to make the score 5-0 before the end of the frame.
Starting pitcher
Izzy Melanson and the Saints needed to come up with a response in the bottom of the first this time – and they did. Saints Michael's would bring two unearned runs around to score in response, but the Saints still held a three-run lead headed to the second.
Juan got on base again in the top of the second. After Kloft singled and Connelly walked, Juan belted a single into right field to bring Kloft around for the second time in game two. That made it 6-2 Saints.
After Saint Michael's cut the lead to 6-3, the Saints expanded their lead again in the top of the third. Melanson got hit by a pitch in the leadoff spot and was subbed out for
Stella VanGee. Then Wendt got on with a single, and Johnson moved both into scoring position with a sac bunt. Jahnle then brought a run around on an infield single, and Kloft posted an RBI groundout to make it 8-3.
St. Lawrence would then run-rule the host Purple Knights at the culmination of the fifth after a five-run inning. Jahnle and VerSchneider each had an RBI, and Juan added two more ribbies to her stat line as well.
Melanson went all five innings in the circle for this contest, earning the victory and improving to 2-1 on the 2025 campaign. She allowed five hits, four runs (two earned), four walks while striking out two batters.
Offensively, Wendt went 3-for-3 to lead the team in knocks, adding two RBIs in the process. Jahnle, Kloft and Connelly all had two hits of their own, with Juan adding a team-high three RBIs in the contest. Jahnle also swiped three bases, a single-game high for St. Lawrence this year.
Next up:
St. Lawrence heads back to Canton, N.Y. to open their home schedule against regional foe Clarkson on Friday, April 4. First pitch on game one is set for 3 p.m.
