Softball Suffers Doubleheader Sweep at Purchase

PURCHASE, N.Y. – It wasn't a good Friday for the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) softball team as they were edged out by Purchase College, 2-1 in the last inning, before falling 13-5, in five innings, to suffer a non-conference doubleheader road sweep.

The Lady Bears (7-13) have now lost three in a row after running off four straight. The Panthers (7-15) find themselves amidst a four-game winning streak after a five-week drought.

St. Joseph's jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the opener Samantha Simon (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) drawing a leadoff walk and reached third on a sacrifice and passed ball where she scored on a Cassandra Molinari (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) grounder.

The defense erased a run in the home half of the frame to preserve the lead, Samantha Rossi (Bayside, N.Y./Mary Louis) starting the relay from left field to Simon to Molinari to cut down Christine Leo trying to score from second on a single.

Purchase knotted the game in the fourth with a ToniAnn Licata leadoff homer and both teams headed to the final frame tied at 1-1 as the Lady Bears couldn't manufacture much offense off Panther starter Nicole Fortunata who held the Lady Bears to three hits.

The Panthers drew a leadoff walk and knocked three straight hits in the seventh, Christina Sanderson's bases-loaded single the deciding blow. Jamilynn McGowan (Staten Island, N.Y./Michael J. Petrides) took the loss in the circle working 6 1/3 innings, allowing eight hits, two runs and fanning one.

The hosts took an early lead pushing two runs across in the opening frame of the nightcap, but the Lady Bears limited the damage as the Panthers left the bases loaded.

St. Joseph's took the lead in the third, all coming with two outs, a Briana Robles (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) single followed by a Shannon Rom (Breezy Point, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) two-run double giving the Lady Bears a 3-2 lead.

The Panthers regained the lead in next half inning plating a pair, before the Lady Bears knotted up the game at 4-4 in the top of the fourth on a Molinari single that scored Geena Campisi (Howard Beach, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) who led off the frame with a single.

With a new game in hand, the defense then faltered with a costly miscue in the bottom of the fourth opening a five-run frame for the Panthers and back-to-back errors in the fifth allowing the Panthers to score four unearned runs and reach the eight-run limit.

Jackie Perillo (Howard Beach, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) took the loss in the circle working 4 1/3 innings, six of her 13 runs on 10 hits coming earned, striking out three.

Fontura went the distance in both games to notch both wins for the Panthers, striking out 10 on the day and allowing six runs on 12 hits.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Other contributors: Shannon Rom (1-for-2, R, 2 RBI, 2B), Cassandra Molinari (2-for-6, 2 RBI, R), Briana Robles (2-for-5, RBI, R), Jackie Perillo (2-for-5), Christina Quintana (1-for-1, RBI)
• Neither team stole a base on the day, Molinari gunning down the lone attempt at second for her ninth caught stealing of the season.
• St. Joseph's stranded nine runners in the nightcap and runners in scoring position in all five innings.

THE LADY BEAR FACTS

• Purchase pulls closer in the all-time series, St. Joseph's holding a 14-10 edge.
• Samantha Rossi's outfield assist in game one was her seventh of the season.
• Kristin Ferrigo had her season-high six-game winning streak snapped in the nightcap.

NEXT UP FOR THE LADY BEARS – NEW ROCHELLE

The Lady Bears will look to return to the win column after the Easter break trying to sweep the season series from Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference foes The College of New Rochelle in a road doubleheader on Monday, April 21 starting at 6 p.m.