Softball Reaches 20 Wins and Perillo Collects 100th Career Hit in Shutout Sweep Over New Rochelle

BELLEROSE, N.Y. - The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) softball team (20-14) tossed back-to-back one-hitters in blanking The College of New Rochelle 10-0 and 13-0, both in five innings, on Monday to reach the 20-win mark for the first time since the 2012 season.

The Lady Bears kicked off the day with a five-run first in the opener. Sophomore Samantha Simon (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) opened scoring with an RBI double and fellow sophomore Samantha Rossi (Bayside, N.Y./Mary Louis) knocked in two more with a single up the middle.

St. Joseph's piled on three more in the second inning. Sophomore Kristin Ferrigno (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) set the rally up with a leadoff triple and was brought home by Simon's sacrifice fly. Juniors Maria Randazzo (Brooklyn, N.Y./Fontbonne Hall) and Kristen Candelaria (Jamaica, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) capped the rally with run-scoring base knocks later in the inning.

With starter Theresa Armano (Middle Village, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) throwing up zeroes, the Lady Bears' offense tacked on two more in the third, highlighted by Randazzo's RBI double to right center.

Riding 10 insurance runs, Armano coasted to a dominant one-hit shutout. The freshman improved to 10-7 in the circle. Ferrigno, Rossi, Randazzo and freshman Maria Gentile (Brooklyn, N.Y./Fontbonne Hall) all recorded three-hit performances at the plate, while Simon drove in a game-high three RBI.

Game two played out similarly to the opener as the Lady Bears crafted their lead in the first three innings while keeping the Blue Angels silent on offense.

St. Joseph's put forth a four-run first inning to claim another early advantage. Jackie Perillo (Howard Beach, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) got the Lady Bears on the scoreboard with a run-scoring double, the 100^th hit of the senior's career, and Candelaria topped off the rally with a two-RBI single.

St. Joseph's poured on three more runs in the second inning and five more in the third to further balloon their advantage. Rossi and starter Jamilynn McGowan (Staten Island, N.Y./Michael J. Petrides) each provided a pair of RBI-singles in the span, while Perillo added to her career hit total with another run-scoring base knock.

McGowan fanned eight batters and surrendered just one hit in four scoreless innings to earn her ninth win of the season. Gentile tossed one perfect inning in relief to shut the door on the Blue Angels and cap off a dominant afternoon for the Lady Bears.

Perillo and Armano paved the way on offense in game two, each collecting a game-high three hits to go along with a pair of RBI.

St. Joseph's will close their regular season schedule on May 2 with the "East vs. West" matchup against sister campus rivals St. Joseph's (L.I.). First pitch for the doubleheader is set for 1 p.m. with live stats available at SJCBears.com.