Horn Hits 100 Strikeout Mark in Softball’s Sweep of Purchase; Bears Secure No. 3 Seed in Skyline Championship

PURCHASE, N.Y. — The St. Joseph's University, N.Y. (Brooklyn) softball team extended their win streak to 10 games as they completed a sweep of Purchase College, 11-0 and 4-1, on Sunday afternoon. The Bears conclude the regular season with a 24-12 record and a 13-5 conference record, securing them a third-place finish in the standings. This marks the program's best regular-season Skyline finish under head coach Danielle Fazzolare since joining the league in 2016.

Game one of the twin bill saw rookie pitcher Brooke Horn (Lakeside, Calif./El Capitan) record her 100th strikeout, the first Bear to accomplish the feat in a single season since Alyson Chiaramonte did so in 2012. At the dish, Bella Gomez (Whittier, Calif./Sonora) batted 2-for-3 with five RBI, a career-best for the junior second baseman.

How it Happened (Game 1)

Gomez plated runs in each of the first two innings. A pair of bases-loaded walks and a wild pitch in the third brought the Bears to a 5-0 lead. Later in the inning, hits from Arianna Heinsch (Brooklyn, N.Y./Fontbonne Hall Academy) and Autumn Poppett (San Diego, Calif./Mission Hills) saw the margin increase to 8-0.

A third bases-loaded walk in the fourth was followed by a two-RBI double to right off Gomez's bat put the Bears in front 11-0. Horn struck out a pair of Panter bats in the bottom half of the innings to reach 100 strikeouts on the season as the navy and gray held on to the result.

How it Happened (Game 2)

A scoreless deadlock was broken in the bottom of the fourth when an error in the Bears' outfield allowed Purchase to get on the board, 1-0. However, Poppett ripped a two-run homer over the left-field fence to put the Bears on top for good. A pair of insurance runs scored in the top of the seventh courtesy of Sofia Logreco's (San Diego, Calif./Mission Hills) double to give St. Joseph's a 4-1 win.

For the Bears (Game 1)

• Gomez finished with a pair of doubles.

• Heinsch went 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored.

• Brianna Kilimet (Valley Stream, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy) scored three runs while Logreco crossed the plate twice.

• Poppett and Lauren Van Der Kamp (Sacramento, Calif./Rosemont) each had hits in the contest.

• Horn improves to 11-4 on the year in the circle.

For the Bears (Game 2)

• Gomez, Poppett, and Nicole Trani (Staten Island, N.Y./Moore Catholic) combined for six of the team's eight hits (two each).

• Gomez and Poppett both finished with two runs scored.

• Jessica Mecham (West Jordan, Utah/Copper Hills) earned the win, going four innings while striking out two and allowing just one run and two hits.

• Leila Heller (Belle Chasse, La./Belle Chasse) recorded her first collegiate save, tossing three innings of relief and striking out a pair of Panthers.

Up Next

The first round of the 2023 Skyline Conference Championship kicks off on Tuesday, May 9 at 6 p.m. against No. 4-seed College of Mount Saint Vincent from the campus of Farmingdale State College. Live stats and video will be available on sjbkathletics.com/live.

The winner will face No. 2 seed Farmingdale State on Thursday from Manhattanville College to begin the double-elimination portion of the tournament.