Folan Raps Out Four Hits And Drives In Three, Young Blasts Three-Run Homer As Softball Drops Tough Northeast-10 Doubleheader At Southern Connecticut

April 26, 2006

STONEHILL SOFTBALL

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Pelz Field, New Haven, Conn.

GAME #1 FINAL: SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT 7, STONEHILL 2

123 456 7 R H E

Stonehill (16-16-1, 9-11-1 Northeast-10) 002 000 0 - 2 8 2

So. Connecticut (16-20-3, 10-9-2 NE-10) 010 033 x - 7 10 0

BATTERIES

STO: Danielle Mason and Caitlin Flanagan

SCS: Jessica Dempsey and Emily Atkinson

WP: Dempsey (4-6) LP: Mason (10-6) Home Run: SCS – Brittany Gandley (6)

GAME #2 FINAL: SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT 10, STONEHILL 9 (8 INNINGS)

123 456 78 R H E

Stonehill (16-17-1, 9-12-1 Northeast-10) 000 033 30 - 9 12 6

So. Connecticut (17-20-3, 11-9-2 NE-10) 205 200 01 - 10 11 2

BATTERIES

STO: Katie Mottau, Gina Vivona (4) and Courtney Young

SCS: Kelly Brenner, Kristyna Bertolone (7) and Emily Atkinson

WP: Bertolone (5-6) LP: Vivona (0-5) Home Run: STO – Courtney Young (5)

NEW HAVEN, Conn.-- The Stonehill softball team dropped a Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader to Southern Connecticut on Wednesday afternoon by scores of 7-2 in the opener and 10-9 in an eight-inning nightcap affair in games played at Pelz Field.

The host Owls (17-20-3, 11-9-2 Northeast-10) overcame a 2-1 deficit in the opener by plating three runs in the fifth and adding three more insurance tallies in the sixth, as senior Kelly Brenner (Hamden, Conn.) gave Southern Connecticut the lead for good with a two-run single, while freshman Monica Savarese (Orange, Conn.) plated a pair of with a two-run double that sandwiched RBI singles by junior Emily Atkinson (Novato, Calif.) and freshman Kierstin Pry (Trumbull, Conn.). Savarese, Pry and junior Courtney Miniter (Branford, Conn.) each had two of Southern Connecticut's 10 hits in the opener in support of sophomore Jessica Dempsey (Stratford, Conn.), who went the distance and struck out five to improve to 4-6 on the season.

Sophomore Jaime Ippolito (Chelsea, Mass.) collected three hits in the opening game setback for the visiting Skyhawks (16-17-1, 9-12-1 Northeast-10), as she and fellow sophomore Caitlin Flanagan (Cornwall, N.Y.) staked Stonehill to a 2-1 third inning lead with RBI singles. Sophomore Danielle Mason (Salisbury, Mass.) went the distance on the mound for the visitors, fanning three to fall to 10-6 on the season.

Southern Connecticut jumped out to a 2-0 first inning lead in the nightcap and extended that margin to 7-0 in the third, as a two-run single by freshman Amanda St. George (Shelton, Conn.), coupled with RBI singles by Atkinson and junior Lindsey Castano (Oakdale, Conn.), led the rally. The Owls grabbed a 9-0 cushion in the fourth on a Castano RBI double to go with a Miniter RBI single, but Stonehill rallied to forge a 9-9 tie in its final three at-bats, plating three tallies in the fifth, sixth and seventh frames to pull even. Sophomores Lauren Polselli (Portsmouth, R.I.) and Stephanie Folan (Glen Cove, N.Y.) rapped out RBI singles in the fifth, while freshman Meghan Sheehy (East Islip, N.Y.) added an RBI groundout, to enable the Skyhawks to pull to within 9-3, and Folan's three-run double in the sixth pulled the visitors' deficit to 9-6. Freshman Courtney Young (Danvers, Mass.) provided the heroics for Stonehill in the top of the seventh to even matters, as she blasted a three-run homer (her fifth round-tripper of the spring) to tie the game and force extra innings, where Southern Connecticut plated an unearned run in the bottom of the eighth to complete the sweep.

Castano went 4-for-5 in the second game win for Southern Connecticut, which also received three hits from Atkinson as part of an 11-hit attack. Sophomore Kristyna Bertolone (Farmingville, N.Y.) picked up the win on the mound for the Owls with two innings of relief of Brenner to improve to 5-6 on the season. Folan rapped out three hits and drove in four in the nightcap setback for Stonehill, which also received two hits each from Young and senior Christine Grenache (Leominster, Mass.). Sophomore Gina Vivona (Seaford, N.Y.) suffered the tough-luck setback on the mound for the Skyhawks, allowing an unearned run in 4 1/3 innings of relief of freshman Katie Mottau (Woonsocket, R.I.).

Stonehill travels to Lowell, Mass. on Thursday afternoon to take on UMass Lowell in a Northeast-10 doubleheader that begins at 3:30 p.m., while Southern Connecticut hosts Bloomfield in a non-league doubleheader on Friday afternoon at Pelz Field beginning at 3:00 p.m.