Lady Bears Streak Halted in One-Run Decisions at Old Westbury

OLD WESTBURY, NY – The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) softball team suffered a pair of one-run losses to SUNY College at Old Westbury, 2-1 and 1-0, on Tuesday afternoon at the Jackie Robinson Athletic Complex.

The sweep drops the Lady Bears to 15-8 and halts their 15-game winning streak, which equals the longest streak in Lady Bear history set in 2003. 

Old Westbury (17-13) scored first in the opener plating a solo run in the second inning when Jessica Colucci led off the frame with a single, stole second and advanced to third on a passed ball, scoring on Jessica Spero bunt single.  The Panthers jumped ahead 2-0 in the fifth with a two-out rally capped by an Alyssa Clancy RBI single.

The Lady Bears finally got on board in the sixth cutting the deficit in half, Jackie Perillo (Howard Beach, NY/Archbishop Molloy) leading off with a triple and scoring on a Millicia Malvasio (Brooklyn, NY/Bishop Kearney) grounder.

In the seventh, Caitlyn Kakavas (Bayside, NY/St. Agnes) drew a one-out walk off starter Deborah Ciccarelli, prompting a pitching change.  Andrea Sideli (Brooklyn, NY/Bishop Kearney) moved Kakavas representing the tying run into scoring position with a grounder, but Clancy shut the door on the Lady Bears with a strikeout for her third save of the season.

The nightcap would feature a pitcher's duel between Alyson Chiaramonte (Staten Island, NY/Moore Catholic), named USCAA Pitcher of the Week earlier today, and Clancy, the reigning Skyline Pitcher of the Week, both combining to allow three hits in the contest.

The Panthers would score the game's lone run on a Jennifer Jean two-out double in the second.

Clancy would keep the Lady Bears off balance again and was one-out from a perfect game, before hitting Cassandra Molinari (Brooklyn, NY/St. Edmund Prep) with a pitch.  Chiaramonte followed with a single through the left side spoiling her no-hit bid moving Molinari representing the tying run into scoring position, but Clancy forced a popup to end the game.

Chiaramonte would take both losses in the circle for St. Joseph's, falling to 10-5, snapping her 10-game win streak. allowing three runs, eight hits and striking out 13 over the twinbill.  Chiaramonte also picked up two of the Lady Bears four hits on the afternoon with Perillo's triple and Sideli's single.

St. Joseph's will look to rebound continuing a stretch of five road doubleheaders on Thursday, April 19th against the College of Mount Saint Vincent. First pitch will be at 6 p.m. at Sprout Brook Park in Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.