Hartwig and Trani Power Softball to Sweep of Mount Saint Mary, Extending Streak to Seven

NEWBURGH, N.Y. — The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) softball team collected a 5-3 and 8-4 sweep of perennial Skyline contender Mount Saint Mary College on Friday afternoon at the MSMC Baseball/Softball Complex.

Sophomore Nicole Trani (Staten Island, N.Y./Moore Catholic) launched a three-run home run in the opener to erase a 3-0 deficit to spark the Bears (7-2, 6-2 Skyline) to their second-straight, late-inning comeback. Junior Ashleigh Hartwig (Santee, Calif./West Hills) blasted a pair of home runs in the nightcap as part of a 3-for-3, six-RBI effort to secure the sweep. 

The Knights (4-2, 3-2) suffered their first losses of the season as the Bears moved into a tie for first with SJC Long Island (7-1, 5-1) with the wins.

Game 1: St. Joseph's 5,  Mount Saint Mary 3

• Batting as the visiting team on their home field due to the game initially being scheduled for Sunday, the Knights scored first with solo runs in the second, third and fifth innings for a 3-0 advantage.
• Knights starter Morgan O'Neill held the Bears to just two hits over the first four innings before the bats rang aloud in the fifth — all with two outs.
• Gabriella Salvador (1-3, R) started with a single up the middle, followed by a single to right from Sierra Bedrin (1-3, R, RBI, SF). Swinging at the first pitch, Nicole Trani (1-4, HR, 3 RBI, R) blasted the ball over the left field wall to knot the game at 3-all and knocked O'Neill out of the circle. SJC threatened for more after an Ashleigh Hartwig (2-4) single and a Casey Bennett (0-1, 2 BB) walk but stranded them at the corners.
• SJC went ahead in the sixth after Arianna Heinsch (0-1, R, 2 BB) walked and scored on an error after an Isabella Calabrese (1-3, R) single. Two batters later, Calabrese would score an insurance run on a Bedrin sac fly.
• A pair of hits and a Bears miscue loaded the bases for the Knights with one out in the seventh, but Jessica Mecham (CG W, 7 IP, 2 ER, 2 K) worked out of the jam inducing an infield fly and a flyout to seal the comeback victory.

Game 2: St. Joseph's 8, Mount Saint Mary 4 

• The Knights struck first after O'Neill knocked a two-out single in the first for an early 1-0 lead.
• But unlike the opener, the Bears got the bats going early and erupted for five hits in the third and highlighted by a Hartwig (3-3, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 2 R) three-run blast for a 3-1 lead. Bedrin (2-3, 2 R, 2B) knocked a double down the line and Trani (1-4, R) followed with a single to score on Hartwig's first of the season.
• Another three-run frame in the fourth pushed the Bears lead to 6-1. All three runs scored with two outs, Hartwig drawing a bases-loaded hit by pitch and Bennett (2-4, 2 RBI, 2B) lacing a double to left that scored two.
• The hosts got the three runs back in the fifth to cut the deficit back to 6-4 but Hartwig launched her second of the game in the sixth with two outs to tack on two more insurance runs and the final 8-4 deficit.
• Allison Kaspar (W, 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 1 K) notched her first win of the season in the circle to improve to 1-1. Gabriella Salvador (Sv, 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 1 K) tossed three scoreless innings in relief for her second save of the season.

The Bear Facts

• The wins are the first over Mount Saint Mary since the series started in 2016.
• St. Joseph's was 0-8 previously and outscored by a 47-5 margin. SJC had never scored more than three runs in either of the eight meetings and suffered five shutouts.
• Mount Saint Mary has been either the Skyline champion (2016, 2017, 2018) or runner-up (2015, 2019) in each of the last 5 seasons. 
• The seven-game win streak is the longest since the 2015 season where the Bears assembled separate winning stretches of eight and seven games.
• Hartwig's two home runs were her eighth of her career, moving her into a three-way tie for fourth all-time. Her two home runs in a single game also matched the Bears record set five times previously and most recently by herself against Sarah Lawrence in 2019.

On Deck

The Bears will look to extend their seven-game win streak hosting for another doubleheader tomorrow at 1 p.m. at the SJC Outdoor Field Complex. Live stats and video will be available on sjcbears.com