Softball Posts Two Shutouts Over York, Extending Winning Streak to Four

BROOKLYN, NY – Lisa Scheer (Queens, NY/Mary Louis) and Alyson Chiaramonte(Staten Island, NY/Moore Catholic) tossed complete game shutouts to propel the St. Joseph's College softball team to a sweep over York College 3-0, 8-0 on Tuesday night at National Grid Softball Field.  With the wins, St. Joseph's (8-6) surpasses the .500 mark for the first time this season.

Chiaramonte also went 2-for-6 on the night at the plate, driving in one run and scoring twice, extending her hitting streak to nine games.

Scheer (4-3) got the nod in the circle in game one, showing great control, pitching a no-hitter through four innings, striking out nine.  A bloop single to right field to start the fifth broke the no-no and would be the only ball to leave the infield all game for York.

St. Joseph's scored the deciding run the second with a two out rally.  Jackie Marinello (Brooklyn, NY/Fontbonne) walked and stole second.  An error by the second baseman allowed her to score on the next play.

Jillian Troise(Brooklyn, NY/Bishop Kearney) added a run in the fifth after singling up the middle and advancing to third on a Scheer single and scoring on a wild pitch.  The Lady Bears added another insurance run in the sixth with Chiaramonte leading off with a shot to left for a double.  Emily Palmieri (Staten Island, NY/St. John's Villa) singled through the right side to drive her in.

A three-run lead would be more than enough for Scheer who allowed only one more hit in the final two innings and retired the side with relative ease forcing easy ground outs to the Lady Bears defense.  Scheer finished the game with 11 strikeouts, the highest total of her young career.

In the nightcap, with St. Joseph's got off to a quick start scoring three runs in the first, with Chiaramonte delivering the game-winning RBI with a single, scoring Theresa Mendez(Queens, NY/St. Francis Prep) from third who drew a leadoff walk.  York starting pitcher Wisam Mohamed had some early control issues giving five free passes in the inning, with Troise and Carissa Cancemi (Queens, NY/Martin Luther) drawing bases loaded walks.

A three-run lead would be more than enough for Chiaramonte (4-3) who tossed a two-hitter, striking out 10 in five innings.

St. Joseph's tacked on five more runs in the second and third innings, to reach the eight-run threshold, only getting one hit and benefitting from four Cardinal errors.  Caitlyn Kakavas (Queens, NY/St. Agnes) had the other Lady Bears hit for the game and scored twice.

York threatened to extend the game in the fifth, placing runners on second and third with one out, but Chiaramonte struck out the next two batters looking to finish the game early.

In the third USCAA coaches poll released earlier today, St. Joseph's was ranked ninth, jumping five places from last week.

St. Joseph's returns to action on Thursday, April 9th travelling to Old Westbury for a doubleheader.  First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.