Trani's Blast Not Enough as SJC Long Island Takes Two From Softball

PATCHOGUE, N.Y. — Sophomore Nicole Trani (Staten Island, N.Y./Moore Catholic) launched her third home run of the season, but the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) softball team was turned away by their sibling rivals St. Joseph's College (Long Island), 5-2 and 6-4, in Skyline Conference action on Saturday afternoon at the SJC Outdoor Field Complex.

After knocking a pair of doubles in the opener to extend her hitting streak to 18 games, junior Ashleigh Hartwig (Santee, Calif./West Hills) saw it halted in game two after drawing a pair of walks, but unable to knock a hit in her lone official at bat.

With the pair of losses, the Bears (15-6, 11-6) fall into a tie for third with Manhattanville, while the Golden Eagles (12-3, 10-3) jump into second place a game ahead of the Bears with both teams set to play again tomorrow.

Game 1: SJC Long Island 5, SJC Brooklyn 2

• A Hartwig (2-3, 2 R, 2 2B) two-out double in the first set up the first run of the game as she scored on a Golden Eagle miscue. The Bears returned the favor with an error in the bottom half of the frame and they remained tied 1-all after one.
• The Bears were held to four hits in the first four innings as Long Island posted solo runs in the third and fourth to build a 3-1 advantage.
• Brooklyn cut the deficit to one, 3-2, in the fifth after Hartwig led off with her second extra-base hit of the game, was sacrificed to third and scored on a Trani (1-3, RBI) infield single. But the hosts added two insurance runs in the bottom half before sitting down the Bears in order in the seventh to take the opener.
• Jessica Mecham (6 IP, 4 ER, 3 K) went the distance in the circle for her ninth complete game of the season, but was stuck with the loss falling to 7-3.

Game 2: SJC Long Island 6, SJC Brooklyn 4

• As in the opener, both squads traded runs in the first with Alexis Buchanan (1-3, 2 RBI) knocking a two-out single to score Vivian Tomovich (1-3, 2 R, SB) for the game's first run
• Trani (2-3, 2 RBI, R, HR) highlighted the afternoon in the second with a blast to center that also brought home Vanessa Quigley (2-4, R) who singled before her. Brooklyn would later load the bases and Buchanan was hit by a pitch to drive in another run and extend the Bears lead to 4-1.
• The Golden Eagles went ahead for good with a decisive five-run fourth as Jenna Defina's two-run double knotted the game at 4-all and Lauren Crawford followed with a two-run single for the go-ahead runs that also knocked out Bears starter Allison Kaspar (3.2 IP, 2 K, 6 ER) from the circle.
• Gabriella Salvador (2.1 IP, 0 ER, 1 H) kept the Golden Eagles at bay in relief, but the Bears couldn't get anything going offensively to mount a comeback threatening in the fifth with two in scoring position and stranding another pair in the sixth.

Highlights

SB (Highlight) | Nicole Trani lifts a shot to deep center. Her third HR of the season moves her into a tie for the #SkylineSB lead. #BearWitnessSJC #SJCNY #d3sb @sjcbearssball pic.twitter.com/A3Bz5GYRwz

— St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) Bears (@SJCBears) May 2, 2021

On Deck

The Bears will celebrate Senior Day for their lone senior, Vanessa Quigley, tomorrow as the teams return to the Outdoor Field Complex to wrap up their four-game series with a doubleheader starting at noon. Brooklyn will try to close the gap in the standings with game one a conference affair and game two a non-conference meeting.

Live stats and video will be available at sjcbears.com. Fans attending tomorrow can also listen to the play-by-play via Zoom or dial-in at sjcbears.com/listen. All fans must be on the team guest list in order to gain admittance.