Softball Extends Streak to Six With 33 Runs Over Skyline Sweep of Old Westbury

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) softball team moved over .500 and improved to 4-0 in Skyline Conference play with 20-0 and 13-5 victories over SUNY College at Old Westbury (5-6, 0-4 Skyline) on Wednesday afternoon at Gil Hodges Field.

The Bears (7-6, 4-0 Skyline) scored 19 runs in the first two innings in a runaway win in the opener, but needed to rally from a four-run deficit in the nightcap in the middle of the second, and earned the sweep with a big 11-run third. 

Senior Victoria Mahoney (Allenwood, N.J./Saint John Vianney) picked up a win in the circle in a combined one-hitter in game one, and finished 6-for-8 with five RBI and five runs scored at the plate over the doubleheader .

Game 1: St. Joseph's 20, Old Westbury 0 (5 inn)

The Bears nearly batted around twice in a monster first inning, pushing 11 runs across. Alexis Buchanan (Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta) opened the scoring three batters in with a single that scored Mahoney who led off with a single. With the bases later loaded and the Bears leading 2-0, SJC knocked five straight run-scoring singles, off the bats of Daniela Trani (Staten Island, N.Y./Moore Catholic), Vanessa Quigley (Staten Island, N.Y./New Dorp), Nicole Quintana (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep), Mahoney, and Jessica Vento's (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) two-RBI single padding the lead to 8-0 with only one out.

SJC batted around again in the second scoring eight more runs on nine hits to push the lead to 19-0. Mahoney knocked an RBI single and an RBI double in the frame, finishing a 4-for-4 game with three RBI and a three runs.

Mahoney surrendered just one hit and one walk in three innings of work, striking out five to earn the victory in the circle and Madison Erhardt (Baltimore, Md./Dulaney) closed out the combined one-hitter with two hitless frames, striking out three.

Game 2: St. Joseph's 13, Old Westbury 4 (5 inn)

After being held to one hit in the opener, the Panther bats came alive in the nightcap and opened the game with three straight singles, scoring their first run of the game on a Lillian Ciauzzi two-out single and the Bears went down in order in the bottom half to see the visitors lead 1-0 after one.

Old Westbury scored a pair of unearned runs in a three-run second that knocked Bears starter Jessica Mecham (West Jordan, Utah/Copper Hills) out of the circle and the Bears faced a 4-0 deficit heading after one-and-a-half.

A Quintana single got the Bears on the board in the home half of the second and SJC threatened for more leaving the bases loaded. But the Bears erupted for their second 11-run inning of the day in the third to break open the game. Quintana, Mahoney, Buchanan, and Gabriella Salvador (Staten Island, N.Y./New Dorp) highlighted the inning each knocking two-run singles.

The Panthers tried to avert the run rule scoring one in the fourth, but the Bears matched with a solo run in the bottom half, and Mahoney sat the Panthers down in order in the fifth to seal the sweep.

For the Bears

• Reigning Skyline Pitcher of the Week Victoria Mahoney had a solid all-around day working five innings over both games, allowing no earned runs and just two hits, striking out seven and improved to 4-3 in the circle. At the plate, she batted 6-for-8, accumulating five RBI, five runs, a double, and a stolen base.
• Madison Erhardt earned the win in relief in game two to improve to 1-1. In 3.2 scoreless innings, she allowed no hits and struck out six.
• Alexis Buchanan batted 4-for-5 in the opener and finished 6-for-9 with four RBI and four runs on the day.
• Nicole Quintana had a pair of multi-hit games, going 3-for-3, with three RBI and two runs in the opener and 2-for-3 with three RBI and a run in the nightcap.
• Ashleigh Hartwig (Santee, Calif./West Hills) went 2-for-4 in both game scoring five times and driving in a run.
• Jessica Vento (2-for-2, 3 RBI, 2 R), Daniela Trani (2-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 R), and Vanessa Quigley (3-for-4, 3 R, RBI) all registered multi-hit games in the opener. Vivian Tomovich (San Diego, Calif./Serra) had a multi-hit effort in the nightcap, finishing 2-for-4 with a RBI and two runs.
• The Bears creep ahead in the all-time series dating back to 2002 at 15-13-1 after suffering a sweep in last season's encounter.

Next Up for the Bears

Riding their longest win streak since the 2015 season, the Bears take their unblemished league record to three-time defending Skyline Champion Mount Saint Mary on Saturday (Mar. 30) for a doubleheader starting at noon.