Rossi Homers Twice But UMPI Edges Softball in a Pair of Pitcher's Duels

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Junior Samantha Rossi (Bayside, N.Y./Mary Louis) went deep twice and drove in all four Lady Bear runs while sophomore Theresa Armano (Middle Village, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) fanned 12 in a pair of complete games, but the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) softball team dropped a pair of pitcher's duels to University of Maine at Presque Isle in a nonconference doubleheader on Saturday afternoon.

The Basics

• Final Score (Game 1): Maine-Presque Isle 3, St. Joseph's 1
• Final Score (Game 2): Maine-Presque Isle 4, St. Joseph's 3
• Records: Maine-Presque Isle (8-2), St. Joseph's (0-6)
• Date: March 26, 2016
• Location: Brooklyn, N.Y.
• Field: McGuire Fields #5
• St. Joseph's Starters (Game 1): Eddy (C), Simon (SS), Quintana (2B), Armano (P), Gentile (1B), Ferrigno (3B), Rossi (LF), Marino (CF), Finnerty (RF)
• St. Joseph's Starters (Game 2): Eddy (2B), Simon (SS), Rossi (LF), Gentile (1B), Quintana (C), Armano (P), Ferrigno (3B), Marino (CF), Finnerty (RF)

How it Happened in Game 1

• Starters Theresa Armano and Sara Packard held the offenses scoreless through the first three innings.
• The Owls' bats struck first in the top of the fourth. With runners on first and second following a hit-by-pitch and walk, Dalynn Jacobs broke the no-hitter and shutout with a run scoring double.
• Maine-Presque Isle rallied for three hits in the top of the fifth to tack on one more insurance run but in the in the bottom half, Samantha Rossi sent a home run to left to break the shutout and slice a 2-0 deficit in half.
• In the top of the sixth inning, a single and ensuing walk set-up Amanda Allen's RBI-single to make it 3-1 Owls.
• The Lady Bears threatened in their final at bat with Rossi connecting on a single and Megan Finnerty reaching on a hit-by-pitch to put the tying runs on the bases with two outs, but Packard shut down the threat inducing a grounder to seal her seventh win in the circle.

How it Happened in Game 2

• The Owls grabbed an early lead in the first with some small ball. Following a leadoff walk, Carly Bell laid down a sacrifice bunt and Sara Packard then delivered a two-out knock for a 1-0 lead.
• The Lady Bears mustered just one hit in a scoreless first two innings, but erupted for a four-hit, three-run third inning for their first lead of the afternoon. Finnerty and Erica Eddy delivered consecutive singles to start the rally. With one out, Rossi cleared the bases with her second long ball of the day.
• Packard helped her own cause in the circle again in the fifth, delivering a game-tying, two-out double bringing home Nicole Marucci and Carly Bell who preceded her with a single and a double. In the circle, Packard surrendered just one hit in a scoreless fourth, fifth and sixth innings and the teams remained tied at 3-all headed to the final frame.
• The Owls pushed in the go-ahead run in the seventh with Bell reaching on a one-out single and Katie Patenaude's ensuing single bringing her all the way home for the 4-3 lead. The one-run cushion was all Packard would need as she set the Lady Bears down in order in the bottom half to cement the sweep.

For the Lady Bears

• Despite taking both losses, Theresa Armano was solid in the circle. The sophomore tossed two-seven inning complete-games, surrendering three earned runs in game one and four in the capper. She also fanned 12, six in each game.
• Samantha Rossi carried the offense, finishing 3-for-6 on the day with two home runs and four RBI, both team highs. Rossi drove in all four of St. Joseph's runs. It was her first two longballs of the season and the outfielder now has four in her career.
• Erica Eddy (3-for-7), Megan Finnerty (2-for-5) and Maria Gentile (2-for-6, 2B) also contributed multi-hit performances in the twinbill. Finnerty also laced a hit in her first collegiate at-bat, breaking the no-hitter in game one.

For the Owls

• Starter Sara Packard earned both victories in the circle to improve to 8-2 on the year. She allowed one run and five hits in game one before fanning five more and surrendering three runs in the capper. Packard struckout out 14 batters on the day, including nine in game one.
• At the plate, Packard went hitless in the opener before finishing 2-for-3 with a game-high 3 RBI to help her own cause in game two.
• Katie Patenaude (3-for-8, RBI), Amanda Allen (2-for-5, RBI), Carly Bell (2-for-5, 2B) and Nicole Marucci (2-for-6, RBI) also gave the Lady Bears trouble at the plate.

The Lady Bear Facts

• The Owls move ahead 3-2 in the all-time series.

Next Up for St. Joseph's

The Lady Bears see their first action on the road on Tuesday, March 29th meeting former Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference foes and Yeshiva University in a Skyline Conference battle at Fordham University in the Bronx, N.Y. First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m. with live stats available at SJCBears.com.