Lady Bears Ground Albertus Magnus in Season Opener

WEST HAVEN, CT – The St. Joseph's College softball team opened their 2010 campaign sweeping Albertus Magnus 9-0 and 16-1 at West Haven High School on Friday night.  Danielle Marino (Maspeth, NY/Mary Louis) had an impressive rookie debut collecting seven runs, five hits, four RBI, three doubles and a triple.

Lisa Scheer (Bayside, NY/Mary Louis) hit 3-for-6, with a double and a triple, driving in six runs and scoring twice.  On the mound, Scheer earned the win in game two, giving up one run on three hits, striking out five.

Alyson Chiaramonte (Staten Island, NY/Moore Catholic) hit 4-for-5, with three RBI, three runs scored and two walks.  She tossed a four-hit shutout in the opener striking out eight.

Caitlyn Kakavas (Bayside, NY/St. Agnes) went 3-for-6, driving in three runs, scoring twice with a triple and a double.  Millicia Malvasio (Brooklyn, NY/Bishop Kearney) went 3-for-4 with three walks, two runs scored and an RBI.

Christina Girardi (Floral Park, NY/St. Francis Prep) and Emily Palmieri (Staten Island, NY/St. John's Villa) each had a pair of hits with an RBI.  Jackie Marinello (Brooklyn, NY/Fontbonne Hall) drove in three runs.

Game 1:  St. Joseph's 9, Albertus Magnus 0

The Lady Bears got on the board early scoring a single run in the first inning, but opened up the game plating five runs in the second, where St. Joseph's had six hits highlighted by RBI doubles from and Marino and Lauren Norris (Sunnyside, NY/Long Island City) to build a 6-0 lead.

Albertus threatened in the bottom half of the frame, but the Lady Bears defense preserved the shutout throwing out a runner at the plate and stranding the bases loaded.  The Falcons never threatened again, Chiaramonte retiring the side in order in the third and fifth innings.

In the fourth inning, the Lady Bears added three more runs with Marinello delivering a two-run single to put St. Joseph's over the eight run threshold.

Game 2:  St. Joseph's 16, Albertus Magnus 1

In the opening frame, Albertus starting pitcher Jess Santos struggled with her control walking seven batters as St. Joseph's sent 13 batters to the plate and scoring eight runs on one hit.   The Falcons managed to pick up one run off Scheer garnering two hits with two outs.  But Scheer remained nearly flawless for over the next three innings, allowing only two more baserunners before Mabel Vargas (Ridgewood, NY/Mary Louis) closed out the game, retiring the side in order in the fifth.

Offensively, the Lady Bears bats were alive combining for 13 hits, scoring in every inning.  In the fifth inning, Marino roped a bases loaded triple to right center for her fifth hit of the series.

St. Joseph's (2-0) returns to action on Sunday, March 21st hosting City Tech in their home opener at noon at National Grid Softball Field in Brooklyn, NY.