The St. Lawrence University softball team came away with their first single-opponent doubleheader sweep of the 2025 season on Wednesday night in Middlebury, Vt. The Saints had a pair of seven-run outings, recording 7-6 and 7-2 wins to move to 11-7 on the 2025 season.
"We really came together and battled as a team today," said Saints head coach
Rosie Phillips. "They were hitting us in game one, but we responded to the pressure and rose to the challenge. We were able to string clutch hits together and seal the deal to break our recent streak of dropping game one. I'm proud of how we didn't stay complacent and came out with hot bats again in the first inning of game two. We really saw every team member play for the name on the front today and it paid off. Taking this energy into this weekend will be key for us."
Madison Connelly had the most productive offensive day for St. Lawrence, with four hits and three RBIs on the twin bill.
Caelen Jahnle,
Leah VerSchneider, and
Marina Juan all had three hits.
Allison Kloft had three runs scored over two games to lead the Saints.
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Game 1: St. Lawrence 7, Middlebury 6
St. Lawrence opened the scoring in the top of the first.
Vivian Johnson had the first hit of the game for the Scarlet and Brown, reaching base by poking a ball into left field. Kloft then walked to put two runners on, and both runners advanced on a wild pitch to put two runners in scoring position for Connelly.
Connelly then floated a looper out to shallow left field and it fell just beyond the outstretched arm of the Middlebury shortstop. Johnson scored, and the Saints had the first runs of the game. Juan then scored Kloft from third with an RBI fielder's choice to make it 2-0 at the half inning break.
Middlebury had a response though, as the team with 11 wins in their last 13 contests pulled ahead in the bottom of the first inning. With two runners on and two away, the Saints thought they got out of the inning with a Kloft tag on a rundown, but the Middlebury runner was called safe and the inning continued. Olivia Schultz and Nina Schroeder then came up with RBI knocks later in the inning to make it 3-2.
St. Lawrence would have a response, however, scoring a run in each of their next two innings, with both coming on some crafty baserunning.
Layne Fritz would score from third on a wild pitch to tie the game 3-3, then St. Lawrence got the go-ahead run from
Zoe Davenport. Connelly got on with another hit in the third, then Phillips put Davenport in on the basepaths. She stole second, took third on a wild pitch, then took home base as well to make it 4-3.
St. Lawrence's offense dried up in the top of the fourth, and Middlebury then cooked up some offense in their half of the inning, putting a runner in scoring position, but Saints starting pitcher
Sofia Berryhill got a Middlebury batter to stare at strike three with two outs to end the threat.
In the fifth, the Saints got some insurance. First, Kloft reached on a base on balls and
Marina Juan was awarded first after she wore a pitch.
Marleigh Monroe then subbed in for Berryhill, and delivered an RBI double off the wall in right-center field. The next batter, VerSchneider, doubled again and scored two runs. The score was 7-3 St. Lawrence heading to the bottom of the inning.
It turned out that St. Lawrence needed that insurance, as the Panthers would plate three runners of their own in the bottom of that inning and the score was 7-6 heading into the final two innings of the game.
In the seventh, Middlebury had one last effort to tie the game, sending two runners to the basepaths with two outs. Monroe then struck out Samantha Hausman to end the game.Â
Berryhill got credit for the victory with a four-inning outing, allowing three earned runs on five hits with one walk. Monroe worked three innings in relief, ultimately holding the Saints' razor-thin late lead and earning her second save of the season.
Offensively, Connelly and
Maeve Thompson led the way with two hits each, and VerSchneider had a team-high two RBIs while driving in the winning run.
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Game 2: St. Lawrence 7, Middlebury 2
It was a big offensive day for St. Lawrence in game two, as they smacked 14 hits. In similar fashion to game one, the Saints scored in the top of the first inning. First, Jahnle kicked it off with a single into left field, then Kloft followed it up with a single of her own. Jahnle was able to come around on an error in the outfield and make it 1-0.
VerSchneider then recorded her third RBI of the day, bringing Kloft home on a drive into right-center to make it 2-0. Davenport came in for her on the basepaths, advanced to second on a
Stella VanGee groundout, and then
Marina Juan drove her home. That put the Scarlet and Brown up 3-0, and the score was 3-1 after Middlebury responded in the home half of the first.
The second and third inning saw Middlebury threaten in both, but Saints starting pitcher
Izzy Melanson worked herself out of some sticky situations. With the bases loaded and two outs in the second, the righty got a ground ball back to her and fielded to first to end the inning. She then had the same situation in the third, and recorded the third out on a liner back to the pitcher.
St. Lawrence made it 5-1 in the fifth on two runs scored from Fritz and
Emily Wendt, then Connelly tacked onto their lead even further in the seventh. VerSchneider and Juan reached base with singles early in the inning, the Connelly brought both around with a loud two-run triple over the head of the left fielder. That made the score 7-1 St. Lawrence. Middlebury added a run in the bottom of the inning but nothing more.
VerSchneider, Juan and Jahnle all registered three hits in the second game, with Connelly adding a team-high two RBIs.
Izzy Melanson stuck in the game all the way until the end, recording the complete game. She was brilliant in the circle for the Scarlet and Brown, allowing just two runs on four hits while walking five.
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Up Next:
St. Lawrence continues their eight-game week with home conference matchups, beginning Friday with a doubleheader against Rochester at 3 and 5 p.m. They then host RIT Saturday for another twin bill, this time beginning at 1 and 5 p.m.
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