Hartwig Knocks 150th Hit as Softball Sees Streak Halted at Six in Split With Old Westbury

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. —  The St. Joseph's University Brooklyn softball team took an 8-0, game one victory over SUNY College at Old Westbury to extend their win streak to six on Tuesday evening. The Bears (15-7, 3-5) jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the nightcap before the Panthers (1-17, 1-5) used a seventh-inning rally to split the Skyline twinbill, 5-4.

Senior Ashleigh Hartwig (Santee, Calif./West Hills) knocked five hits and drove in four runs on the evening to become the third Bear in program history to reach the 150-hit milestone.

Game 1: St. Joseph's 8, Old Westbury 0 (5 inn)

The Bears took control of the game early and jumped out to a 7-0 after two innings. After the first two batters of the game reached, Hartwig opened the scoring with a two-run double to the gap and Nicole Trani (Staten Island, N.Y./Moore Catholic) followed with a double to score Hartwig for a 3-0 lead. 

St. Joseph's posted four in the second highlighted by a Trani sacrifice squeeze and Maeve McKeon's (Point Pleasant, N.J./Point Pleasant) two-out RBI single.

Hartwig's second double of the game in the fourth scored Alexis Buchanan (Murietta, Calif./Murietta Valley) who led off the inning with a single for an 8-0 lead.

Jessica Mecham (West Jordan, Utah/Copper Hills) leveled her record in the circle at 3-3 and tossed her third shutout of the season. She struck out six, scattered five hits over five innings, and walked none.

Hartwig and Trani both finished 2-for-3 and combined to drive in five runs and knock three doubles. Bella Gomez (Whittier, Calif./Sonora) also had a multi-hit effort finishing 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a stolen base. Buchanan went 1-for-3 with three runs scored and a stolen base.

Game 2: Old Westbury 5, St. Joseph's 4

Buchanan and Hartwig teamed up again to open the scoring in the nightcap as they both rapped back-to-back two-out hits, Hartwig's double scoring Buchanan for a 1-0 lead after one.

The hosts tied the game at 1-all in the third with a two-out knock of their own from Shannon Myles.

A three-run fourth would put the Bears up 4-1. After a wild pitch allowed one run to score, Hartwig knocked her third straight hit to reach the milestone and she later scored on a Bella Hurtado (San Diego, Calif./Olympian) single. A Vivian Tomovich (San Diego, Calif./Serra) two-out single delivered Hurtado capped off the scoring. 

The Panthers cut into the deficit with a solo run in the home half and the game remained 4-2 headed to the seventh. After a Bears miscue and a single setup runners at second and third, the Bears cut down a runner at the plate for the first out of the inning, but a triple by Myles knotted the game at 4-all and an Alaina Reilly single gave the Panthers the walk-off comeback for their first win of the season.

Hartwig finished 3-for-4 with a RBI, run scored, and two doubles. Buchanan also logged a multi-hit game with a 2-for-4 effort and a run scored.

Allison Kaspar (Miller Place, N.Y./Rocky Point) tossed four innings in a no-decision, allowing two runs with two strikeouts. Gabriella Salvador (Staten Island, N.Y./New Dorp) was stuck with the loss in relief, striking out three.

Next Up

The Bears host Purchase College on Saturday, April 23 at the LIU Softball Complex in Brookville, N.Y. First pitch for the Skyline doubleheader is set for noon with live stats and video available at SJCBears.com/live.