Lady Bears Force Extras But Leave Florida Empty-Handed

CAPE CORAL, FL – The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) softball team staged a seventh inning rally scoring two runs to force extra innings, but suffered a 4-2 setback to Hendrix College in eight innings to conclude their Florida trip on Sunday.  In the first game of the day, the Lady Bears bats were held silent in a 13-0 loss to the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

Game 1 – Wisconsin-Oshkosh 13, St. Joseph's 0 (5 innings)

The Lady Bears struggled against Titans starter Courtney Wautier who tossed three perfect innings until Cassandra Molinari (Brooklyn, NY/St. Edmund Prep) drew a leadoff walk in the fourth inning.  But Molinari would be the lone St. Joseph's baserunner as Wautier tossed four innings of no-hit ball and Kimberly Lohre took over the circle in the fifth and retired the side in order.

Starter Lisa Scheer (Bayside, NY/Mary Louis) worked out of a first inning jam with runners at the corners and one out caused by a Lady Bear error.  But three miscues in the second frame snowballed into a seven run inning – only one run coming earned to Scheer – as the Titans knocked seven hits including three homers in the frame.

Scheer went the distance and took the loss, giving up five earned runs, striking out one and walking none.

Game 2 – Hendrix 4, St. Joseph's 2 (8 innings)

Junior Millicia Malvasio (Brooklyn, NY/Bishop Kearney) knocked the first hit of the day for St. Joseph's with a single to lead off the home half of the first.  Malvasio was sacrificed to second, but the Lady Bears couldn't advance her any further and that would be all the Lady Bears offense as Hendrix starter Ashley Halbert prevented any more baserunners thorough six innings.

Despite a few missteps, the Lady Bears' defense stood pat and kept the game scoreless through three.  Hendrix plated the game's first runs in the fourth inning on a two-out Morgan Fires triple to the right field corner that delivered Halbert who led off with a single. Lauren Whitby brought Fires home on the next batter with a single through the left side.

The two-run cushion seemed to be enough for starter Halbert who remained in control entering the final inning.  Mabel Vargas (Queens, NY/Mary Louis) struck out on a wild pitch to lead off the frame, but reached first when the ball squirted away from the catcher.  After Vargas advanced to second on a groundout, Alyson Chiaramonte (Staten Island, NY/Moore Catholic) singled through the left side to put runners at the corners and bring the winning run to the plate. 

Caitlyn Kakavas (Bayside, NY/St. Agnes) delivered Vargas home with a grounder to short, cutting the deficit in half and moving the tying run to second, but the Lady Bears faced their final out.  Freshman Molinari put the ball in play with a slow roller to the first baseman Whitby, but Molinari eluded her tag as she ran down the line. Chiaramonte, moving on contact with two outs, scored from second as Whitby looked for the covering second baseman, and the game was knotted at 2-2 after regulation.

In the extra frame, with a runner placed on second base to start the inning, DJ Sandidge hit a one out, two-run home run that would be the difference.  Malvasio drew a walk in the bottom half of the inning, but Whitby held the Lady Bears hitless to seal the win.

Chiaramonte suffered the loss in the circle, allowing 10 hits, four runs (three earned) with three strikeouts in eight innings of work.

St. Joseph's (0-6) returns home and opens their schedule up north with a Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference home twinbill against the College of New Rochelle on Friday, March 23rd at Padavan Preller Fields.  First pitch of game one is slated for 4 p.m.