Troise Hits For Cycle; Lady Bears Claim HVWAC Title

BRONXVILLE, NY – The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) softball team captured the 2012 Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference Invitational Tournament title defeating Sarah Lawrence College, 12-0, in the semifinals and Albertus Magnus College, 8-0, in the championship on Saturday at the Mary Levine Field.

St. Joseph's (25-10) wins their fourth straight HVWAC tournament title and extends their winning streak to eight games.

The Lady Bears were led by senior Jillian Troise (Brooklyn, NY/Bishop Kearney) who earned Tournament MVP honors, batting 4-for-5 with six RBI and three runs. In the semifinal, Troise became the first Lady Bear in program history to hit for the cycle, launching her first career homer in the process and her six RBI matched second-most by a Lady Bear in a single game.

After knocking 16 hits against Sarah Lawrence, the Lady Bears bats exploded for four home runs in the championship, setting a new Lady Bears team record for homers in a game.  Danielle Marino (Maspeth, NY/Mary Louis), Alyson Chiaramonte (Staten Island, NY/Moore Catholic), Cassandra Molinari (Brooklyn, NY/St. Edmunds) and Jackie Perillo (Howard Beach, NY/Archbishop Molloy) all went yard, the first career four-baggers for Molinari and Perillo.

Chiaramonte continued her dominance in the circle with a one-hit, six-inning shutout in the championship, her 11th shutout of the season, striking out 10 to improve to 16-6 in the circle.  Fellow senior Lisa Scheer (Bayside, NY/Mary Louis) fired her fourth shutout of the season in a three-hitter in the semifinals fanning five and boosting her record to 9-4.

The Lady Bears took control of the semifinal from the outset, scoring six runs on six hits in the top of the first and aided by two Gryphon errors. Scheer started the hit parade with a double followed by a Chiaramonte RBI single that opened the scoring, followed by another RBI single from Caitlyn Kakavas (Bayside, NY/St. Agnes). Troise provided the fireworks two batters later with a three-run blast to start off the cycle.

St. Joseph's took advantage of two more miscues in the second to post three unearned runs and take a 9-0 lead.  Troise knocked in two more runs with a two-out double that scored Scheer and Kakavas and she later scored herself on an error.

Sarah Lawrence assembled their only threat to score in the third knocking their first two hits off Scheer and loading the bases with the heart of the lineup due up, but Scheer worked out of the inning with a popup.

The Lady Bears tacked on three runs in the fifth all-coming with two outs, but the highlight was Troise who singled in the fourth and needed a triple to complete the cycle, having only hit one her entire career.  She attained the hardest leg of the cycle with a shot to right center, legging it out and her slide easily beating the throw to third. Troise also brought home Emily Palmieri (Staten Island, NY/St. John's Villa) who preceded her with an RBI double, capping a 4-for-4 game with six RBI and three runs scored.

St. Joseph's squared off against Albertus Magnus College for the title, who advanced to the championship with a 17-0 victory over New Rochelle in the first semifinal. Kakavas put the Lady Bears ahead early with a two-run single that scored Millicia Malvasio (Brooklyn, NY/Bishop Kearney) and Marino.

The Lady Bears then added runs with solo blasts, Perillo homering in the second, Molinari in the fourth and Chiaramonte in the fifth to move ahead 6-0.  Marino put an exclamation point on the scoring with a two-out, two-run homer to reach the run rule in the top of the sixth.

The Falcons lone hit off Chiaramonte came in the third inning on a Shequita Baker single up the middle, the only ball to leave the infield all game.  After the hit, Chiaramonte struck out seven of the next 10 batters she faced for the title.