PAXTON, Mass. - The Albertus Magnus College softball team closed out the 2021 regular season with a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) doubleheader sweep against Anna Maria College on Saturday afternoon. The Falcons outshined the AMCATS in the opener, 13-4, and shut out the hosts in six innings to claim the nightcap, 8-0.
THE BASICS - G1
FINAL: Albertus Magnus 13 | Anna Maria 4
MEETING: This is the 16th and 17th meeting between the Falcons and AMCATS.
ALL-TIME SERIES: Heading into today's doubleheader, Albertus leads the all-time series against Anna Maria, 15-0.
LOCATION: AMCAT Field
BOX SCORE
HOW IT HAPPENED
Albertus jumped out to an early four-run lead to start the first leg of the road conference doubleheader against the AMCATS. Junior Jessica Stettinger (East Haven, Conn.) led off the opener collecting her third home run of the season before a one-out RBI single from Laura Anderson (East Haven, Conn.) drove in Ivy Geloso (Beacon Falls, Conn.) for the two-run lead. With two outs and runners on second and third, Ava Gladwin (Guilford, Conn.) scored L. Anderson and advanced Megan Anderson (Levittown, N.Y.) to third making the margin 3-0. M. Anderson would then cross home plate on a stolen base attempt putting the visiting team up 4-0.
Anna Maria cut the deficit to three, 4-1, in the bottom half of the inning, as an RBI groundout from Saylor Costa allowed Shay Savoie to score after she led off the inning with a single to shortstop.
Albertus got the run back in the top of the third when Geloso blasted her second home run of the season past the fence in right field.
Once again, Geloso was there to extend the lead for the Falcons in the top of the fourth as the designated player provided a two-out RBI single to left-center, which allowed Janelle Franklin (Middletown, Conn.) and Angelina Ramada (North Branford, Conn.) to cross home plate, putting the Falcons up six, 7-1.
The AMCATS would counter three runs in the bottom of the fourth to make the score 7-4, but that was the closest the hosts would get as they stranded two runners on base following a strikeout from Allison Sholds.
L. Anderson doubled the Falcons' lead, 8-4, in the top of the fifth following her first home run of the season before the visitors tacked on an additional five runs in the top of the seventh to bring the final score to 13-4. The inning was highlighted by a two-run RBI double from Ramada and a two-run RBI single from Karissa Kerrs (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.). The Falcons' final run of the day came from Kerrs, who crossed home plate following a throwing error by the first baseman.
TOP PERFORMERS
- WP: Laura Anderson (W, 7-2) | LP: Eden Forget (L, 2-4)
- Anderson fanned three batters while allowing no walks in her seventh complete game of the season.
- Albertus had four players - Geloso, L. Anderson, Gladwin, and Ramada - record three hits.
- M. Anderson also registered a multi-hit game for the Falcons.
- Geloso led Albertus in RBI's with a season-best three to go along with two runs scored.
- L. Anderson, Ramada, and Kerrs also posted two RBI's each.
- Savoie and Kyleigh Campbell finished with two hits each for the AMCATS.
- Kassandra Register recorded two of the AMCATS' four RBI's.
NOTEWORTHY
- Today's 18-hit performance was a season-high for the Falcons.
- Albertus also set a season-high in RBI's (11), home runs (3), and runs scored (13).
THE BASICS - G2
FINAL: Albertus Magnus 8 | Anna Maria 0 - 6 innings
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (11-5,11-3 GNAC) | Anna Maria (4-20 1-15 GNAC)
LOCATION: AMCAT Field
BOX SCORE
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Falcons started the second game in the same fashion as the first, with Stettinger leading off and finding her way across home plate. This time, she singled up the middle, moved all the way to third on a Franklin single, and scored while Franklin attempted to steal second. However, a groundout and a strikeout ended the top half of the inning with the Falcons up 1-0.
Albertus would bring another run across the board in the top of the third to extend the lead to 2-0. Despite one out, Stettinger kept the Falcons alive with a single to left field, but a fly out to left kept her at first with Geloso coming up to bat. Stettinger then managed to score thanks to an RBI double to left field from Geloso before the final out was collected at third.
Albertus continued to swing the bat as a pair of singles from L. Anderson and Bernadette Kingsbury (Trumbull, Conn.) kicked off the top of the fourth. L. Anderson then gave the Falcons the three-run lead, 3-0, after stealing home while Kingsbury stole second. Junior Kayla Resto (Shelton, Conn.) kept the momentum going with an RBI single up the middle to allow Kingsbury to score prior to a fly out to left. Later in the inning, Fatima Rosales (East Elmhurst, N.Y.) hammered a double to left field, scoring Resto for the RBI, 5-0, and then scored on a Stettinger home run to center field, along with Ramada, bringing the score to 8-0. Stettinger's homer in the fourth was her second of the day and 10th overall.
The game would end via the eighth-run rule in the bottom of the fifth after solid pitching from Kingsbury, who forced three straight strikeouts from the AMCATS to go on and earn her third win of the season.
TOP PERFORMERS
- WP: Bernadette Kingsbury (W, 3-1) | LP: Sabrina Liston (L, 2-8)
- In her third complete game as a sophomore, Kingsbury earned her second shutout in the circle.
- Kingsbury also set a new season-high as the hurler fanned 10 batters and allowed no walks over five innings.
- Stettinger finished 3-for-3 at the plate to go along with three runs scored and three RBI's.
- Geloso, L. Anderson, and Resto finished with two hits each.
- Four different AMCATS registered a hit.
NOTEWORTHY
- Today's shutout was the Falcons' second of the season.
