Old Westbury Stymies Softball With Big Late Innings

OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. — Junior Victoria Mahoney (Allenwood, N.J./Saint John Vianney) finished 4-for-8 at the dish to lead the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) softball team, but SUNY College at Old Westbury broke open a one-run contest in game one and a tie game in game two with big sixth-inning outbursts to secure 12-5 and 6-1 decisions in Skyline Conference action on Sunday afternoon.

The Basics

• Final Scores: Old Westbury 12, St. Joseph's 5; Old Westbury 6, St. Joseph's 1
• Records: Old Westbury (7-5, 2-4), St. Joseph's (6-14, 1-7)
• Location: Old Westbury, N.Y. — Jackie Robinson Athletic Complex

Game 1: Old Westbury 12, St. Joseph's 5

• The Bears broke out of their scoring slump with two early runs in the first, Amber Wainwright (Taunton, Mass./Taunton) delivering an opposite-field single to bring home Jessica Vento (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) who led off with a walk and later in the inning Maria Gentile (Brooklyn, N.Y./Fontbonne Hall) belted a two-out RBI double to move ahead 2-0. But the Panthers matched the Bears with a pair in the home half of the inning.
• SJC posted another deuce in the second with Victoria Mahoney (Allenwood, N.J./Saint John Vianney) leading off with a double, stealing third and scoring on a sacrifice squeeze by Vento and Sarah Kampuries (Ozone Park, N.Y./John Adams) followed with a single and later scored on a Panther miscue.
• The hosts would tie the game again with two in the third and facing Mahoney in the circle in relief in the fourth, took a 6-4 lead with another pair.
• SJC cut the deficit in half making the most of two OW miscues in the top of the sixth for an unearned run, but the Panthers put the game out of reach with six runs in the bottom half, three Bear errors allowing all but one run score unearned.
• The Bears threatened in the seventh loading the bases with no out but saw their rally fizzle out unable to push anyone across.
• The opener featured a combined nine errors by both squads and Old Westbury ringing out 23 hits, most allowed by the Bears in a game this season.

Game 2: Old Westbury 6, St. Joseph's 1

• The Bears scored early once again, manufacturing a solo run with Mahoney scoring on a Panther error after singling earlier in the frame.
• SJC threatened for more in the second loading the bases, but OW escaped the threat with a 1-2-3 double play. The Panthers loaded the bases in the bottom half of the inning and came away with a run on a hit batter to knot the game at 1-all.
• The Bears bats went silent over the next four innings held to just two more hits, but the game remained knotted at 1-1 as the defense escaped bases-loaded jams unscathed in the third, fourth, and fifth innings.
• But the Panthers broke through again with a big inning in the sixth, scoring five runs on five hits, with Nicole Baron's two-out, bases-clearing triple providing the decisive blow.

For the Bears

• Victoria Mahoney rattled off four hits on the afternoon and scored twice, finishing 3-for-4 in game one.
• Amber Wainwright went 2-for-4 in the opener with a RBI.
• Sarah Kampuries hit both ends of the doubleheader finishing 2-for-6 with a pair of runs.
• Madison Erhardt went the distance in the circle allowing six runs, striking out four.

Next Up for the Bears

• The Bears return home to Gil Hodges Field hosting sibling rivals SJC Long Island on Saturday (Apr. 14) in a Skyline doubleheader starting at noon. Live stats and video will be available on SJCBears.com.