Lady Bears Softball Drops Both Ends of Their Doubleheader Season-Opener in Arizona

TUCSON, Ariz. - The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) softball team (0-2) dropped both ends of their season-opening doubleheader on Thursday as part of their six-game set in the Tucson Invitational Games, falling 7-0 to the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (11-4) and 3-0 against Denison University (5-2).

In game one, after a scoreless first two innings, senior Kelli Anderson cleared the leftfield fence for a two-run homer in the bottom of the third to put Wisconsin-La Crosse on the board.

Starting pitcher Jamilynn McGowan (Staten Island, N.Y./Michael J. Petrides) tossed a scoreless fourth to keep things tight as the Lady Bears struggled to get their offense jumpstarted. But the Eagles unleashed a four-run fifth inning to fortify their grip on the game.

Junior Katrina O'Keefe started the rally off with a walk and fellow junior Emilie Wiltzius brought her home with a triple to center. After a sac fly to bring Wiltzius in from third, sophomore Jessie Carignan smashed a two-run homer to move Wisconsin up 6-0.

The Eagles would tack on another run in the sixth as St. Joseph's continued to remain quiet on offense.  

Junior Heather Grelle and Carignan combined for the shutout. Grelle set the pace with a scoreless first three innings, allowing just one hit. Carignan finished things off, also allowing one hit on seven strikeouts in four scoreless innings. Carignan also led the offensive attack, going 2-for-3 with a homerun and three RBI's.

Sophomores Kristin Ferrigno (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) and Samantha Rossi (Bayside, N.Y./Mary Louis) each finished 1-for-3 at the plate, providing the Lady Bears' only two hits of the contest.

In game two, Denison grabbed the momentum early, connecting for three consecutive doubles in the bottom of the first inning to seize a quick 2-0 advantage.

In the second, senior Julie Rooney slammed a two-out RBI double, her second of the game, to make it 3-0 in favor of the Big Red.

That would be all the scoring Denison needed as St. Joseph's would be unable to string together a rally on offense.

Freshman Theresa Armano (Middle Village, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) settled in after the first two innings, pitching a six-inning complete game for St. Joseph's while allowing just two earned runs. The Lady Bears managed just two hits for the second consecutive game, one from senior Cassandra Molinari (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) and the other off the bat of freshman Destiny Marino (Middle Village, N.Y./Christ the King).

For Denison, freshman Lauren Secaras tossed a complete game shutout, conceding just two hits and fanning six.

With a quick turnaround, the Lady Bears with have an opportunity to rebound tomorrow with another doubleheader in Arizona, facing The University of Puget Sound at 5:30 p.m. and The University of Minnesota Crookston at 8 p.m.