Lady Bears Last Inning Rally Falls Short, Drop Both Ends of Florida Opener

CAPE CORAL, FL – After trailing for most of their 2012 opener against SUNY Potsdam, the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) softball team managed to get the tying run into scoring position in their final at bat with no outs, but dropped a one-run, 3-2 decision.  In game two, the Lady Bears suffered a 9-2 setback to Mount Mary College after committing four errors that led to seven unearned runs.

Game 1 – SUNY Potsdam 3, St. Joseph's 2

Potsdam struck first with Sami Brown delivering a two-out double down the left field line in the top of the second inning.  St. Joseph's cut the deficit in half in the home half of the frame, with starter Ashley Thayer issuing three walks and two wild pitches that allowed Caitlyn Kakavas (Bayside, NY/St. Agnes) to score the Lady Bears' first run.  But heart of the Potsdam order tacked on another run in the third after knocking a pair of hits and delivering with a sacrifice fly.

Thayer kept the Lady Bears off balance for the most of the game and carried a no-hitter into the final inning. After Emily Palmieri (Staten Island, NY/St. John's Villa) led off the inning hit by a pitch, Vargas drove a ball over the right fielder's head to spoil the no-hitter and more importantly represented the tying run with no outs.  Freshman Jackie Perillo (Howard Beach, NY/Archbishop Molloy) drove a ball to left that easily sacrificed Palmieri, but after Potsdam bobbled the cutoff throw Vargas was caught advancing to third and deflated the momentum of the rally.

Senior Alyson Chiaramonte (Staten Island, NY/Moore Catholic) went the distance in the circle and struck out nine, while allowing eight hits and three runs.

Game 2 – Mount Mary 9, St. Joseph's 2

The Lady Bears came out flat against the Blue Angels, still deflated from the near comeback, and recovering from the late night arrival into Florida as well as the temperature adjustment of playing a 1 p.m. game in the Florida heat.

An error in the first inning gave Mount Mary the bases loaded with one out, but Lisa Scheer (Bayside, NY/Mary Louis) worked out of the jam.  But in the second inning, the defense would falter again committing two miscues that led to a three run frame, and prove to be the difference in the contest.

Potsdam tacked on another run in their next at bat to build a 4-0 lead, and the Lady Bears finally got on the board with Scheer helping her own cause with a two-out single to left center that scored Millicia Malvasio (Brooklyn, NY/Bishop Kearney).  Chiaramonte and Kakavas followed with singles to load the bases, but the Lady Bears couldn't bring any more runs across.

Scheer produced a two-out double in the fifth and scored on a Blue Angel miscue, but the Lady Bears faced a 7-2 deficit that was too large to overcome.   In the circle, Scheer tossed 6.2 innings, and only two of her seven runs came earned as the Lady Bears committed four miscues in the game.

St. Joseph's continues their Florida trip and looks to rebound with a pair of games tomorrow against St. Lawrence University and Curry College.  Fans can follow the live stats and video at www.SJCBears.com.