The Albertus Magnus softball team fell to Johnson & Wales (R.I.) in back-to-back Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) contests on Friday night at West Haven High School in West Haven, Conn. Led by a one-hitter by pitcher Tayla Gardner in the first game, the Wildcats cruised to a 5-0 shutout victory over the Falcons. In game two, the Wildcats scored 12 runs en route to a 12-4 win in five innings as the contest was called after five due to heavy rain showers.
With the two wins, JWU improved to 12-6 on the year and 5-1 in GNAC play, while the Falcons fell to 6-8 overall and 0-4 in league action.
Carli Matrisian (Milford, Conn.) finished the night with two hits as she was the lone Falcon to record a hit in the opening contest of the Friday night doubleheader.
In the first contest, the Wildcats' Gardner struck out 10 batters and allowed one hit in her complete-game shutout. She improved to 7-1 from the hill with the win. She also helped herself from the batters' box as she led JWU with a 3-for-4 performance to go along with one run scored, four RBI, and a double.
Albertus' Brianna Longley (Milford, Conn.) took the loss for the Falcons as she fell to 2-3 on the year. She allowed five runs, three of which were earned, on 10 hits. She recorded one strikeout.
JWU scored its first run of the contest in the top of the third inning as Diana Amendolara led off the frame with a double in the gap. She later scored on Gardner's team-leading ninth double of the season. In the fifth inning, the Wildcats scored two runs on four hits and one Albertus error. Amendolara led off the frame with a hit once again before moving to second then scoring on a Gardner RBI single. After back-to-back JWU basehits, Emily Gorecki's RBI single scored JWU's third run of the contest.
In the top of the sixth inning, JWU added two more runs to take a 5-0 lead. Another lead-off hit followed by a hit batter and an Albertus error set up the stage for a Gardner RBI single which plated both JWU runs of the frame.
In game two of the night, JWU scored four runs in the first inning as the Falcons picked up two early errors in the opening frame to help the Wildcats take a 4-1 lead after one inning. Gardner continued her hitting streak with a leadoff double before scoring on a Kristen Solari single. JWU's Emily DePew also recorded an RBI single in the frame.
The Falcons' first run of the night came in the bottom half of the first inning as Elaina Maio (West Haven, Conn.) recorded her first double of the season before moving to third on a wild pitch. The junior later scored on a passed ball.
JWU added two runs in the second inning thanks to a two-RBI single by Solari before Albertus matched their run tally in the frame with two of its own in the bottom half of the second inning to make the score 6-3. In the second, Paula Mancinelli (Montville, N.J.) walked before scoring on a Brittney Urciuoli (Newington, Conn.) triple, her third of the season. Urciulo scored the Falcons' third run of the contest on a sacrifice fly by Maio.
Gardner homered in the fourth inning to extend the Wildcats' lead before JWU scored five runs in the top of the fifth inning, led again by Solari with two RBI.
The Falcons scored one run in the bottom of the fifth as freshman Rachel Cataudella (Shelton, Conn.) scored on a passed ball.
Due to heavy rain, the game was called after five complete innings. JWU's Gorecki earned the win from the hill as she allowed two runs on four hits. She improved to 1-0 for the Wildcats. Gardner finished out the final three innings for the starting pitcher.
Megan Kelly (Bronx, N.Y.) allowed 12 runs on 11 hits and four walks as only six runs were earned. Kelly dropped to 0-2 on the year with the loss.
Albertus will host Norwich on Saturday, April 5 in a 4:00 p.m. GNAC contest. The Cadets are 11-5 on the year and have won nine of their last 10 contests. They are also 6-0 in conference play.
