The Bear Facts

The St. Joseph’s College (Brooklyn) softball team rebounded from a pair of losses against Farmingdale State last Saturday with a Sunday sweep of the defending Skyline Conference champions. The Bears enter this weekend’s series with Old Westbury with a .500 record (2-2, 1-2 Skyline).

Opening day starter Jessica Mecham tossed a complete game, allowing just three earned runs and registering a strikeout. Offensively, she went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles in the second and fourth innings in a losing effort. The next day, she allowed one earned run and scored one of her own in the frontend of the Bears’ doubleheader victory on Sunday to earn recognition on the Skyline Weekly Honor Roll.

Ashleigh Hartwig combined to go 4-for-7 on Sunday with a pair of doubles, as many RBI, and a run scored.

Sierra Bedrin doubled and scored a run on Sunday. In the circle, she earned her first win of the season after pitching a pair of relief innings and allowing a lone hit. Junior Gabriella Salvador registered a pair of K’s in three innings for her first save of the season.

Freshmen Arianna Heinsch and Brianna Kilimet recorded their first collegiate hits with the latter driving in the lone run in the backend of Sunday’s twin bill.

Pulse on the Panthers 

For the first time since April 29, 2019, the softball program at the College at Old Westbury returns to Skyline Conference competition. Appointed as head coach prior to the cancellation of the 2020 campaign, this will be the first season for head coach Tom Pennino, who previously served as an assistant at Farmingdale State.

The Panthers welcome a plethora of new faces as well as bringing back key returning players; including Jessica Metz and Amanda Neenan. With a .516 on-base percentage, Metz led the conference in the category while Neenan ranked sixth with .482. Metz, who played in 27 games in 2019, also finished second in the Skyline with 22 walks and led the Panthers in runs (22). The junior leftie’s .348 batting average, 23 hits, and 16 RBI were all good for second on the team while her .455 slugging placed her in third.

Neenan equaled Metz’s .348 batting average and 23 hits in three fewer games. The Staten Island native finished second on the team in on-base percentage (.482) and fourth in runs scored (17).

A win against St. Joseph’s (Brooklyn) would be the first for Old Westbury since sweeping a home doubleheader against the Bears in 2018 by a combined score of 18-6.