Softball Scores 30 in Sweep over Baruch to Move Above .500

BELLEROSE, N.Y. - The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) softball team (8-6) exploded for 30 runs in a doubleheader sweep over Baruch College (0-8) on Saturday afternoon, extending their winning streak to eight games and moving above .500 for the first time this season. The Lady Bears kicked off the day with a 13-2 five-inning victory in game one, followed by a 17-9 five-inning triumph in game two.

The Lady Bears pounced on Baruch early in the opener, plating 10 runs on five hits in the first. Senior Cassandra Molinari (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) led the way with a 3-RBI inning, bringing home the team's first run with a groundout and then driving in two more with a single to centerfield her next time up.

Sophomore Samantha Rossi (Bayside, N.Y./Mary Louis) capped the dominant inning with a 2-RBI single to move St. Joseph's up double digits.

With an abundance of run support, Theresa Armano (Middle Village, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) cruised to her fourth consecutive victory in the circle. The freshman threw four innings, surrendering no earned runs while striking out a pair.

Sophomore Jamilynn McGowan (Staten Island, N.Y./Michael J. Petrides) shut the door on the Bearcats with one scoreless inning in relief.

St. Joseph's struck early in game two as well. Following consecutive singles to open the bottom half of the first, senior Jackie Perillo (Howard Beach, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) powered one over the leftfield fence for her first homerun of the season.

Later in the inning, junior Erica Eddy (Glendale, N.Y./Christ the King) laced an RBI-single up the middle to cap a four-run first for the Lady Bears.

Trailing 6-1 after two innings, Baruch's offense would awaken in the top of the third to draw within one run. Sophomore Vanessa Santana highlighted the inning for the Bearcats, placing a bases-loaded single between short and third to bring around a pair of runs.

But St. Joseph's reclaimed the momentum with a four-run third and five-run fourth to open their advantage to 15-6.

Leading 15-9 in the bottom of the fifth inning, Molinari delivered once again with a 2-RBI single through the middle to enforce the mercy rule and clinch the sweep.

Along with her first homerun, Perillo also picked up her first victory in the circle in game two, allowing three earned runs and striking out four over three innings.

In their fourth consecutive doubleheader sweep, the Lady Bears laced 24 hits and brought home at least one run in every inning. Molinari batted 3-for-6 with a team-high 5 RBI on the day, while Rossi also finished 3-for-6 with 4 RBI.

Next up, St. Joseph's will face another CUNYAC opponent in Lehman College, traveling to the Bronx on Tuesday, April 7 for a doubleheader faceoff at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Live stats will be available at SJCBears.com.