Rappoli Raps Out Four Hits And Drives In Five Runs As Softball Keeps Pace In Win Column By Sweeping Northeast-10 Road Doubleheader From Setters With 8-3, 9-4 Decisions

April 18, 2005

STONEHILL SOFTBALL

Monday, April 18, 2005

Pace Field, Briarcliff, N.Y.

GAME #1 FINAL: STONEHILL 8, PACE 3

123 456 7 R H E

Stonehill (9-17, 8-9 Northeast-10) 002 410 1 - 8 8 0

Pace (8-21, 6-9 Northeast-10) 000 210 0 - 3 8 4

BATTERIES

STO: Jessica Sachse, Danielle Mason (5) and Lauren Polselli

PAC: Angela Locsin, Kelly Kinyon (6) and Jacquelyn Burd

WP: Sachse (5-3) LP: Locsin (4-3) Home Run: STO-Christine Grenache (3)

GAME #2 FINAL: STONEHILL 9, PACE 4

123 456 7 R H E

Stonehill (10-17, 9-9 Northeast-10) 103 014 0 - 9 10 0

Pace (8-22, 6-10 Northeast-10) 110 020 0 - 4 4 2

BATTERIES

STO: Tracey Cidlevich, Danielle Mason (5) and Caitlin Flanagan

PAC: Julia Hunt and Michelle Brigham

WP: Cidlevich (3-6) LP: Hunt (2-12) Save: Mason (1)

BRIARCLIFF, N.Y.-- Freshman Lauren Rappoli (Wilmington, Mass.) went 4-for-6 and drove in five runs to lead Stonehill to a sweep of a Northeast-10 Conference softball doubleheader from Pace on Monday afternoon by scores of 8-3 in the opener and 9-4 in the nightcap in games played at Pace Field.

Rappoli got the visiting Chieftains (10-17, 9-9 Northeast-10) off to a flying start in the top of the third of the opener with a two-run double that staked Stonehill to a 2-0 lead, and the visitors extended that margin to 6-0 in the fourth that included a Rappoli RBI single as well as a two-run homer by junior Christine Grenache (Leominster, Mass.), her third round-tripper of the spring. The host Setters (8-22, 6-10 Northeast-10) answered back with two runs in the bottom of the fourth, but the Chieftains tacked on an unearned tally in the fifth and used a Grenache RBI double in the seventh to close out their scoring. Freshman Stephanie Folan (Glen Cove, N.Y.) joined Rappoli and Grenache with two hits each as part of an eight-hit Stonehill attack in the opener, as freshman Jessica Sachse (East Williston, N.Y.) pitched 4 1/3 innings and allowed three runs to pick up her fifth victory of the season on the mound for the visitors. Senior Tess Bair (Gaston, Ore.) led Pace at the plate with three hits in the first game setback, as senior Angela Locsin (San Martin, Calif.) allowed six hits and five earned runs in five innings to take the setback.

Stonehill overcame a 2-1 deficit in the nightcap with a three-run third inning to take the lead for good, as a two-run single by freshman Jaime Ippolito (Chelsea, Mass.) and an RBI single by senior Nicole Pichette (Exeter, R.I.) provided the tallies for the Chieftains in that frame. Ippolito’s third RBI of the contest, a single in the fifth, extended the visitors’ lead to 5-2, and after Pace closed to within 5-4 in the fifth on a Burd RBI single and a run-scoring groundout by junior Michelle Brigham (Unionville, N.Y.), Stonehill broke things open with four runs in the sixth, highlighted by a three-run double by freshman Caitlin Flanagan (Cornwall, N.Y.) and a bases loaded walk to Rappoli that closed out the scoring.

Flanagan went 3-for-3 in the nightcap triumph for Stonehill, as Rappoli and Ippolito each contributed two hits as part of a 10-hit Chieftain attack. Sophomore Tracey Cidlevich (Milton, Mass.) allowed just two hits over four innings of work but walked seven while striking out a pair in picking up her third win of the season on the mound for the visitors, as freshman Danielle Mason (Salisbury, Mass.) pitched three shutout innings and allowed two hits to earn her first collegiate save. Bair added three more hits in the nightcap setback for Pace, as sophomore Julia Hunt (Mahopac, N.Y.) allowed 10 hits and eight earned runs in suffering the setback on the mound for the Setters.

Stonehill, which has won nine of its last 13 outings and has posted its highest league win total in four years to date, hosts Southern Connecticut in a Northeast-10 twinbill on Wednesday afternoon at Gartland Field beginning at 3:30 p.m., while Pace hosts Franklin Pierce in a Northeast-10 doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Pace Field beginning at Noon.