Skyhawks Get Split With Golden Knights

Albany, N.Y. - After picking up a 5-1 on the strength of three hits from senior Jaime Ippolito (Chelsea, Mass.), Stonehill again fell victim to an excellent pitching performance in the nightcap of a doubleheader, dropping a 1-0 decision to St. Rose to take home a two-game split with the host Golden Knights on Sunday afternoon.

Tracey Cheseborough, spun a two-hitter, striking out 13 Stonehill batters and St. Rose got a walk-off base hit from Cara Piccarreto in the bottom of the seventh to give the Golden Knights the win in game two.

Cheseborough, who improved her record to 7-7, struck out the side in the second, had at least one in every inning, and struck out two batters in four other innings.

Megan Sheehy (East Islip, N.Y.) doubled down the left field line with two outs in the sixth, but the Skyhawks couldn't advance her any further. Stonehill's other hit came in the seventh when Lauren Rappoli (Wilmington, Mass.) singled with one out, but again, the Skyhawks weren't able to move her along.

Katie Mottau (Woosocket, R.I.) was the tough-luck loser for Stonehill, going 6.1 innings, giving up just five hits and the one earned run.

Game one was a different story, as the Skyhawks, who trailed 1-0, scored three runs on back-to-back doubles from Courtney Young (Danvers, Mass.) and Rappoli, then a two-run single from Caitlin Flanagan (Cornwall, N.Y.) in the fourth.

Stonehill tacked on two more in the fifth on an RBI single from Young and an infield base hit from Ippolito.

Kait Mendall (Middleboro, Mass.) went five effective innings for the Skyhawks, giving up four hits and just one earned run to pick up her second win, while Danielle Mason (Salisbury, Mass.) had two innings of hitless relief.

Stonehill is now 19-15 overall and 11-9 in Northeast-10 action.

The Skyhawks return the field on Tuesday when they travel to Southern Connecticut.