Briarcliffe Slips Past Lady Bears

HOLTSVILLE, NY – In a heated battle between two-ranked USCAA squads, #6 Briarcliffe College edged out the #7 St. Joseph's College softball team in a duo of one-run contests at the PAL Sports Complex on Saturday afternoon.  Millicia Malvasio (Brooklyn, NY/Bishop Kearney) collected four hits with three doubles over the twinbill to lead the Lady Bears at the plate. 

Sophomores Caitlyn Kakavas (Bayside, NY/St. Agnes), Alyson Chiaramonte (Staten Island, NY/Moore Catholic) and Lisa Scheer (Bayside, NY/Mary Louis) each knocked a pair of hits for the series and combined to score five of the seven St. Joe's runs.  Kakavas also drove in two and scored twice with a double and a stolen base.

Chiaramonte saw 9 2/3 innings of work in the circle, allowing only one earned run and striking out eight.

Game 1 – Briarcliffe 7, St. Joseph's 6

St. Joseph's jumped out to a 3-0 advantage to lead off the game, with all three runs coming with two outs.  Kakavas opened the scoring with a two run double to left bringing home Scheer and Chiaramonte.  Kakavas later scored from third on a double steal attempt with runners at the corners.

Briarcliffe took the lead in the second inning helped by a Lady Bear miscue that led to a four run inning.  Victoria Boschert and Toniann Puglissi contributed with a pair of two-out, two-run doubles.

Chiaramonte led off the third with a double and equalizing the game two batters later on a Palmieri double to left center that just missed clearing the wall by a few feet.

The Seahawks moved ahead again with three runs in the fourth, reaching starting pitcher Scheer for three hits and two walks.  Scheer minimized the damage, forcing a fly out to get out of a bases loaded jam.

St. Joseph's pulled within a single run in the fifth scoring two runs on an Andrea Sideli (Brooklyn, NY/Bishop Kearney) double, that scored Chiaramonte and Kakavas who led off the inning with walks.  But that would be the last of the run production as Jillian McGovern held the Lady Bears scoreless over the final 2 2/3 in relief for the save.

Emily LaManna was credited with the win, going 4 1/3 giving up six runs and striking out five.  Sheer (4-5) took the loss for St. Joseph's, allowing seven runs (three earned) and striking out seven in four innings of work.

Kakavas led the Lady Bears offensively with a 2-for-3 outing, with a pair of RBI and runs scored.

Game 2 – Briarcliffe 2, St. Joseph's 1 (8 innings)

A very exciting game that saw both sides display great defense to keep the game scoreless until the fifth inning.  The Lady Bears continually tested the Briarcliffe defense in search of runs which were scarce, but Briarcliffe was up to the task throwing out a runner at home and two runners at third from the outfield.

In the circle, Chiaramonte scattered seven hits and pitched out jams with runners on second and third with one out in three different innings – the second, third and fifth.

St. Joseph's broke the deadlock in the fifth on a Malvasio double to right that scored Jillian Troise (Brooklyn, NY/Bishop Kearney) who singled before her.

Briarcliffe matched the mark in the bottom half of the frame, with pitcher Ivette Yi Santiago helping her own cause with a double that scored Victoria Boschert, who led off with a double.  Puglissi followed with another hit to put runners at first and second, with the heart of the lineup due up and no one out, but Chiaramonte did well to keep the game tied.

With the game deadlocked at 1-1 through regulation, the extra frames started with the tiebreaker rule in effect placing a runner at second base to start the inning.  St. Joseph's did not advance their runner, while Briarcliffe led off the inning with a sacrifice to move their runner to third and Laura McTaggart singled her home with a two out hit through the right side.

Yi Santiago earned the win for Briarcliffe going the distance and allowing one run on five hits, striking out three.  Chiaramonte (6-4) takes the loss for St. Joseph's allowing two runs (one earned), striking out seven.