Softball Dealt Sweep by Sister Campus Rivals St. Joseph's (L.I.) in Regular Season Finale

BELLEROSE, N.Y. - The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) softball team (20-16) suffered a doubleheader sweep at the hands of their sibling rivals St. Joseph's (L.I.) in their regular season finale. The Lady Bears led most of the opener before falling 6-4 and were dealt an 8-0 shutout in game two.

St. Joseph's (Bklyn) claimed an early lead in game one. Following a pair of walks in the first, seniorJackie Perillo (Howard Beach, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) laced a single down the left-field line to give Brooklyn the first score.

The Lady Bears entered the bottom of the third still clutching their 1-0 advantage. SophomoreSamantha Simon (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) led off the inning with up single up the middle. Simon then advanced to second on a wild pitch, using heads-up baserunning to position herself in scoring position for senior Cassandra Molinari (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep).

Molinari, the Lady Bears' RBI leader, came through again with a single down the left-field line to plate Simon and give Brooklyn some extra breathing room.

St. Joseph's (Bklyn) rallied for two more in the fourth to strengthen their grip on the game. Following a walk by junior Erica Eddy (Glendale, N.Y./Christ the King) and a bunt single off the bat of freshman Stephanie Rancel (Middle Village, N.Y./Christ the King), sophomore Kristin Ferrigno (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) connected for a two-RBI base knock to left.

Starter Jamilynn McGowan (Staten Island, N.Y./Michael J. Petrides) silenced opponents' bats through five innings, but the Golden Eagles came alive in the sixth. Following a leadoff single and a walk, freshman Kristen Arbiter delivered a two-RBI triple to end the shutout and cut the deficit in half with one swing.

Three outs from defeat, the Golden Eagles mustered another rally in the top of the seventh. With the bags loaded and nobody out, junior Megan Leun ripped a game-tying single through the left side.

Junior Mallory McClafferty's subsequent bases-loaded drive to deep center brought the go-ahead runs home.

Perillo led off the bottom of the seventh with a double, her third hit of the game. But the Lady Bears would be unable to fashion their own late-inning heroics.

McGowan suffered the loss despite holding the Golden Eagles scoreless through the first five innings. McClafferty, who tossed two scoreless innings in relief, earned the victory to improve to 7-6 in the circle.

The Golden Eagles carried their momentum into game two. Following a scoreless first inning, freshman Katelyn DeVinney drew first blood with a two-RBI single up the middle.

The Lady Bears' sister campus rivals tacked on three more in the fourth, two in the fifth and one in the sixth as starter Sandra Foster threw up zeroes.

Foster fanned the side in the sixth, running her strikeout total up to 14 and concluding a masterful complete-game shutout. The freshman improved to 2-2 while Armano dropped to 10-8 on the season.

Despite dropping their regular season finale, the No. 1 seeded Lady Bears will embark on their quest for a seventh consecutive Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament title tomorrow, meeting Sarah Lawrence College in the semifinal at 5 p.m.

If victorious, St. Joseph's will play for the championship against the winner of No. 2 Yeshiva University and No. 3 The College of New Rochelle at 7p.m.