Hartwig's Homer Lifts Softball to 20th Win in Split with St. Joseph’s (LI)

BROOKVILLE, N.Y. — Trailing 8-7 in the bottom of the sixth, senior Ashleigh Hartwig (Santee, Calif./West Hills) belted a two-run shot to left-center to give the St. Joseph's University Brooklyn softball team a 9-8 edge; headlining a five-run sixth inning en route to a 12-8 win over St. Joseph's University Long Island on Saturday afternoon. The win lifts the Bears to 20-12 (8-8 Skyline), their first 20-win season since joining the Skyline Conference and first since 2015.

Three runs in the final two innings of game one, including a two-run homer off the bat of Nicole Trani (Staten Island, N.Y./Moore Catholic), wasn't enough as the navy and gray fell to the Golden Eagles (14-13, 9-7), 6-4.

How it Happened, Game 1

The game was tied at one apiece after two as both sides managed two-out RBI base hits in their respective half innings. Long Island then plated three in the third, with Julia Ruocchio driving in a pair on a triple to right field. Autumn Poppett (San Diego, Calif./Mission Hills) worked a pair of quick innings to keep the Golden Eagles off the board.

However, the visitors tacked on a pair of runs in the sixth behind Kate Kiernan's two-RBI double. The Bears grabbed a run back when Arianna Heinsch (Brooklyn, N.Y./Fontbonne Hall Academy) doubled down the left-field line to score Bella Gomez (Whittier, Calif./Sonora).

Down 6-2 with one out and a runner on first, Trani went yard for the second time this season; sending the first pitch of her at-bat beyond the left-field fence. Brooklyn couldn't find another breakthrough in the frame as the Golden Eagles took the opener, 6-4.

Game 2

A leadoff single from Jenna DeFina, the reigning Skyline Player of the Week, began game two. She scored on a home run by Lauren Crawford. Brooklyn immediately got on the board courtesy of Sofia Logreco's (San Diego, Calif./Mission Hills) RBI double before Alexis Buchanan's (Murrieta, Calif./Murrietta Valley) single drove in the second and third runs of the stanza. The senior scored on Poppett's sac fly, giving the Bears a 4-2 advantage.

A pair of runs in each of the next two innings saw the Golden Eagles not the game at four. After the two leadoff bats for the Bears reached base, Poppett singled up the middle; driving in Trani and Hartwig. A throwing error on a fielder's choice gave the Bears a 7-4 lead.

Long Island tied it up with a three-run inning of their own in the top of the fourth before taking an 8-7 lead in the sixth on an infield single.

Trani worked a lead-off walk to begin the home half of the sixth as Hartwig stepped into the dish. The third baseman ripped a two-run home run over the left-center field to swing momentum back in the Bears' favor. Later in the inning with two outs and the bases jammed, Logreco found a gap in left-center with a stand-up, bases-clearing double; padding the navy and gray's lead to 12-8. 

Sierra Bedrin (Rocklin, Calif./Whitney), who came on to pitch in the fourth inning, recorded the contest's final three outs to seal the split.

For the Bears, Game 1

• Heinsch went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs batted in.

• Thanks to her homer, Trani finished the game going 1-for-3.

• Gomez scored a pair of runs as she went 2-for-3 with a double.

• Logreco also doubled, going 2-for-2 and scoring a run.

• Buchanan and Vivian Tomovich (San Diego, Calif./Serra) each went 1-for-4.

• Poppett and Jessica Mecham (West Jordan, Utah/Copper Hills) combined for three strikeouts.

For the Bears, Game 2

• Hartwig went yard for the 11th time in her career and the first time this season. She also doubled as she finished 4-for-4 with a pair of runs and RBI.

• Logreco drove in four runs as she went 2-for-5 with a pair of two-baggers.

• Poppett finished 2-for-3 at the plate with three RBI and a run scored.

• Buchanan logged two RBI.

• Gomez and Emily Burroughs (Escondido, Calif./San Pasqual) each went 2-for-4 and scored a run.

• Mecham struck out a pair of Golden Eagles in three innings of work.

• Bedrin earned her first win of the season in the circle, tossing four innings with an earned run and a K to her name.

Up Next

The Bears look to officially clinch a place in next week's Skyline Conference Softball Tournament when they face the College of Mount Saint Vincent in the regular-season finale on Sunday, May 1 at noon. The program's seven seniors will be honored in Senior Day ceremonies prior to first pitch. Live stats and video will be available on sjcbears.com/live.