Boston, Mass. - The Albertus Magnus College softball team fell short against Saint Joseph's of Maine, 7-3, on Thursday afternoon at East Boston Memorial Park in the second round of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) softball tournament. Following today's loss, the Falcons will play in an elimination game on Saturday, May 5th against Emmanuel (Mass.) or Johnson & Wales.
FINAL SCORE: Saint Joseph's of Maine 7 | Albertus Magnus 3
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (23-16) | Saint Joseph's of Maine (20-17)
HOW IT HAPPENED
With one out and runners on the corners, sophomore Laura Anderson (East Haven, Conn.) drove in the first run of the day, driving in Brianna Whitfield (West Islip, N.Y.) from third to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead, but Saint Joseph's of Maine took the lead over, 4-1, after scoring four-runs in the bottom of the first, including a three-run homer from Maizie Lee.
Albertus continued to chip away at the Monks' three-run lead as junior Maxine Sanchez (Corona, N.Y.) drove in a run in the top of the second on a RBI double to left field, cutting the lead in half, 4-2, before a rain delay ensued and the game was put on hold for 30 minutes.
With the sky clear and the field rechalked, the Monks put more distance between themselves and Albertus with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third thanks to Kaylee Burns' two-run homer to left center.
The score stood still from there until Saint Joseph's of Maine added to its advantage in the bottom of the sixth and turned it into a 7-2 Monks' game.
Albertus Magnus started a rally in the top of the seventh as Fallon Speers (East Haven, Conn.) started off the inning with a single up the middle. With two outs and a runner on, Gillian Fortier (Naugatuck, Conn.) drove in Sanchez from first making the score 7-3, but the rally came to an end as a fly out to left field ended the inning.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
On the Mound:
- Albertus Magnus - Fallon Speers (L, 1-2): 6.0 IP | 10 | 7 R | 7 ER | 1 BB | 2 HR
- Saint Joseph's of Maine - Kristal Smith (W, 9-9): 7.0 IP | 7 H | 3 R | 3 ER | 1 BB | 1 SO
At the Plate:
- Three different Monks recorded two-hit days: Libby Pomerleau, Kaylee Burns and Kristal Smith.
- Burns led the trio with homer for two RBI and a pair of runs while Pomerleau provided one RBI and one run for the Monks.
- The Falcons received two-hit efforts from both Whitfield and Melissa Castillo (Taftville, Conn.).
- Whitfield accounted for one of the Falcons' three runs with Daysia Wehder (Queens, N.Y.) and Sanchez, who doubled, also scoring once.
- The Monks out-hit the Falcons by a 10-7 edge.
UP NEXT
Saint Joseph's of Maine advances and will take on Suffolk in the second game in East Boston. Albertus Magnus, meanwhile, is back on the field at East Boston Memorial Park Saturday, May 5 at 10 a.m. in a win-or-go-home elimination game against Emmanuel or Johnson & Wales.
First Round - Wednesday, May 2 (single elimination)
Game 1 Final: #8 Lasell 5 | #5 Albertus Magnus 6
Game 2 Final: #7 Emmanuel 5 | #6 Saint Joseph (CT) 2
Second Round - Thursday, May 3 (double-elim begins)
Game 3: #5 Albertus Magnus 3 | #4 Saint Joseph's Maine (at #1 Suffolk) 7
Game 4: #7 Emmanuel 8 | #3 Simmons (at #2 JWU) 3
Game 5: #4 Saint Joseph's Maine at #1 Suffolk - 5:30 PM
Game 6: #7 Emmanuel at #2 JWU - 5:30 PM
Semifinals - Saturday, May 5 (hosted by #1 Suffolk)
Game 7: #3 Simmons vs. Game 5 loser (elim game) - 10:00 AM
Game 8: #5 Albertus Magnus vs. Game 6 loser (elim game) - 12:30 PM
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner - 3:00 PM
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner (elim game) - 5:30 PM
Championship - Sunday, May 6 (hosted by #1 Suffolk)
Game 11: Game 9 loser vs. Game 10 winner (elim game) - 10:00 AM
Game 12: Game 11 winner vs.