Lady Bears Cruise to HVWAC Invitational Title

BRONXVILLE, NY – In preparation for next week's United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) National Championship Tournament, St. Joseph's took home the Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference (HVWAC) Invitational title. The Lady Bears opened the tournament with a win against Albertus Magnus 13-1 then proceeded to defeat host Sarah Lawrence 11-0 to win the title.

St. Joseph's displayed both a powerful offense and dominating pitching in their run to victory. The Lady Bears and Albertus Magnus kicked off the tournament at 10:00 am and St. Joseph's had to wait until 4:00 pm for the Championship game against Sarah Lawrence.

Lady Bear starters Alyson Chiaramonte (Staten Island, NY/Moore Catholic) and Lisa Scheer (Bayside, NY/Mary Louis) were sharp in both games. Chiaramonte struck out eight batters in the semifinal game and Scheer took the victory with a shutout in the championship game. Both were five inning affairs.

The Lady Bears knocked ten hits in both games. Chiaramonte and Scheer also did damage at the dish going a combined 7-for-12 with six runs scored and seven RBI. Andrea Sideli (Brooklyn, NY/Bishop Kearney) launched her first home run of the season in the Championship game. Caitlyn Kakavas (Bayside, NY/St. Agnes) rounded out the offense going 4-for-4 with two runs, five RBI and a stolen base and was named the Tournament MVP.

Following the tournament, Chiaramonte, Kakavas, Scheer and Danielle Marino (Maspeth, NY/Mary Louis) were named to the HVWAC All-Conference Team.

Semifinals – St. Joseph's 13, Albertus Magnus 1 (5 inn.)

St. Joseph's scored at least two runs in all five innings played. The Lady Bears scratched out two runs on an RBI walk and a sacrifice fly to take the early lead.

That was all the support Chiaramonte needed as she continued her impressive season. The Falcons didn't get a runner to second base until the fourth inning when Sam Corso homered to put Albertus Magnus on the board.

The Lady Bears tacked on runs in each inning though as a total of 23 runners reached base in five innings. Kakavas, Chiaramonte, Marino and Emily Palmieri (Staten Island, NY/St. John's Villa) all had at least two RBI and Millicia Malvasio (Brooklyn, NY/Bishop Kearney) finished with two hits and a game-high three runs scored as St. Joseph's advanced to the finals with their 13-1 win.

Championship Game – St. Joseph's 11, Sarah Lawrence 0 (5 inn.)

St. Joseph's used a different approach in game two to drive up their run total. After scoring in every inning in the semi-final round, the Lady Bears only scored in two, but used a ten-run first inning on their way to an 11-0 victory.

Sixteen batters came to the plate in the ten-run first. The first five hitters all reached and Chiaramonte's two-run double gave the Lady Bears an early 3-0 advantage. Marino also plated two with a single in her second at-bat of the inning and Kakavas capped the inning with a single to bring home the tenth run of the frame.

Scheer breezed through the Gryphons lineup, allowing only five hits while striking out three and not allowing a run. After the third inning, Scheer didn't allow a base-runner and retired the final seven batters to face her.

Sideli finished off the scoring for St. Joseph's with her first career home run in the third inning.