MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. (March 9, 2024) – The Stonehill College softball team defeated Manhattan, 10-7, in the early evening before falling to Colgate, 4-0, in two non-conference games Saturday at R.O.C. Park as part of The Spring Games.
GAME 1 – Stonehill 10 (3-5, 0-0 NEC), Manhattan 7 (2-11, 0-0 MAAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
After a scoreless first inning, Stonehill's offense exploded for seven runs in the second thanks to six of the first seven runners reaching base as the Skyhawks tallied seven singles and two walks in the inning.
After pitching a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the first, freshman Harper Sullivan (Glendale, Ariz.) knocked two base hits and drove in two runs in the second inning alone.
Junior Paige Wodarski (Danvers, Mass.) also drove in two runs for the Skyhawks in the top half of the second, plating Natalie Bottiglieri (Massapequa, N.Y.) and Emily Nardelli (North Attleboro, Mass.).
Sullivan tallied her third RBI of the game to put Stonehill in front 8-1 in the fourth inning with her third single of the game.
Freshman Haleigh Reed (Mesa, Ariz.) tacked on two more insurance runs in the fifth to put the Skyhawks up 10-1 with a single through the right side.
Manhattan began to claw its way back into the game in the fifth after hitting a two-run home run in the bottom half of the fifth to make the score 10-3.
The Jaspers continued to rally, scoring three more runs in the sixth and one more in the seventh but the Stonehill lead was too much, as the Skyhawks closed out the win as freshman Alexa Hospodar (Old Bethpage, N.Y.) notched her second consecutive save to pull out the 10-7 win.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Sullivan shined on the mound and at the plate, going 3-4 with three singles and three RBI and pitching 5.2 innings with six strikeouts to secure her first career win.
- Stonehill is now 1-0 all-time against Manhattan and won two games in a row for the first time since winning both games against AIC in a doubleheader on April 20, 2022.
- Bottiglieri went 2-4 with a stolen base and an RBI while scoring her team-leading ninth run of the season.
- Reed and Wodarski each tallied two RBI for the Skyhawks while 10 different baserunners crossed home plate for Stonehill.
- Nardelli reached base all three times she stepped up to the batter's box, walking twice and hitting a single.
- Of Stonehill's 14 hits, 13 of them were singles with one double from junior Alyssa Grossi (Wakefield, Mass.) who went 1-2 with the two-bagger and a run scored.
GAME 2 – Colgate 4 (6-10, 0-0 Patriot), Stonehill 0 (3-6, 0-0 NEC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Colgate scored three runs in the first inning, tallying four base hits in the Raiders' first five bats but the Skyhawks avoided more damage as freshman Alex Sciaretto (Bristol, Conn.) recorded a strikeout with runners on the corners to end the inning.
The Skyhawks managed five hits, each coming in a different inning as Stonehill failed to string together base runners.
Colgate scored its fourth and final run in the fourth inning after a pair of walks and a double tacked on an insurance run leading to a final score of 4-0.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Junior Shannon Conte (Amesbury, Mass.) went 2-3 while redshirt sophomore May Dawes (Beacon Falls, Conn.) went 1-2 with a double and a walk.
- Sciaretto pitched all seven innings for the Skyhawks, striking out a season-high six batters while giving up nine hits and four earned runs.
UP NEXT
Stonehill softball concludes its five-game weekend in Madeira Beach, Florida tomorrow afternoon with a non-conference contest against Troy University at noon.
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