Palmieri's Grand Slams Give Lady Bears HVWAC Tournament Championship

BRONXVILLE, NY – Emily Palmieri (Staten Island, NY/St. John's Villa) blasted two grand slams and knocked in nine runs powering the St. Joseph's College softball team to the 2010 Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference Invitational championship.  Palmieri was also named the tournament Most Valuable Player.

St. Joseph's surrendered one run all tournament defeating the College of New Rochelle 11-1 in the semifinals and the College of Notre Dame (Maryland) 10-0 in the championship.  The Lady Bears improve to 26-9-1 and match the 26 win mark set last season.

Palmieri's grand slams were her only two hits for the tournament and the first grand slams of her career.  She currently leads the team in home runs (3) and is tied for the team lead in RBIs (30).

For the tournament Mabel Vargas (Ridgewood, NY/Mary Louis) collected three hits, while scoring three times and driving in two.  Getting the call in the circle in the semifinals, Vargas went the distance, tossing a one-hitter, striking out four and allowing one run (unearned), improving to 4-0 on the season.

Lisa Scheer (Bayside, NY/Mary Louis) and Millicia Malvasio (Brooklyn, NY/Bishop Kearney) each knocked a pair of hits and scored three times.  Scheer also drove in a pair of runs while Malvasio drove in one.  Both were named to the All-Conference Team in ceremonies after the championship.

Alyson Chiaramonte (Staten Island, NY/Moore Catholic) tossed four one-hit innings in the championship, striking out three and walking none, for the combined shutout.  Chiaramonte improves to 15-3 on the season and is undefeated in her last eight starts in the circle.  At the plate, she snapped her 23-game hitting streak, which currently stands as the school record.  Chiaramonte was also named to the All-Conference Team.

Caitlyn Kakavas (Bayside, NY/St. Agnes) drove in a pair of runs and scored three times.  Christina Girardi (Floral Park, NY/St. Francis Prep) and Melissa Simo (Brooklyn, NY/Midwood) had two RBI each.

In the semifinals, New Rochelle took a 1-0 lead in the opening frame scoring a run on a Palmieri error.  After Kakavas tied the game with a bases loaded walk, Palmieri rectified her miscue with a grand slam to left center highlighting a five-run frame for St. Joe's.  The Lady Bears posted another five runs in the second inning benefitting from three bases loaded walks and RBI singles from Girardi and Vargas.  A sacrifice fly by Scheer in the third completed the scoring.

In the championship, a Notre Dame defensive miscue with two-outs extended the frame and allowed St. Joseph's to load the bases again for Palmieri who punished the Gators with her second grand slam of the day, giving the Lady Bears an early 4-0 lead.  In the bottom half of the frame, Notre Dame would get one hit off Chiaramonte, but that would be the only base runner she would allow all game, retiring the side in order the next three innings.

St. Joseph's tacked on another run in the second on a Scheer two-out single.  In the fifth, the Lady Bears plated five runs to go over the eight-run threshold, as the Gator hurler found difficulty finding the plate, issuing three straight free passes to load the bases.  Vargas started the scoring with a single up the middle followed by a bases loaded walk by Malvasio.  Simo then rapped a two-run single to the opposite field and Girardi scored another run with a grounder.  Scheer came in relief to close out the game and after allowing two infield singles, the Lady Bears turned a 6-5-4 double play to clinch the championship.

St. Joseph's concludes their 2010 campaign travelling to Akron, Ohio to compete in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Softball National Championships from May 8-10.  It will be their second straight appearance in the national tournament, and the fourth all-time in the nine-year history of the program.  Follow the Lady Bears progress at the national tournament by visiting www.sjcbears.com for live coverage of the games and news updates.