NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Albertus Magnus College softball team saw its winning streak come to an end as the Falcons lost both ends of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) doubleheader to the Wildcats of Johnson & Wales University on Wednesday afternoon at the Shea Softball Field. The Wildcats took game one by a final score of 8-1 and held off the Falcons to secure the nightcap, 9-2.
THE BASICS
FINAL (G1): Johnson & Wales (RI) 8 | Albertus Magnus 1
FINAL (G2): Johnson & Wales (RI) 9 | Albertus Magnus 2
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (28-8, 14-2 GNAC) | Johnson & Wales (RI) (30-6, 11-3 GNAC)
LOCATION: Shea Softball Field
HOW IT HAPPENED - Game 1
After forcing the Wildcats to leave two runners stranded on base in the top of the first, Albertus went on an early rally as Ivy Geloso (Beacon Falls, Conn.) kicked off the inning with a walk followed by an error by the left-field that allowed Janelle Franklin (Middletown, Conn.) to reach first. Despite a strikeout, Franklin and Geloso managed to capitalize on a wild pitch that put the duo in scoring position for Jess Stettinger (East Haven, Conn.), who hit a hard-hit single to short to load the bases. From there, Skylar Arent (New Fairfield, Conn.) battled at the plate forcing a walk against the Wildcat pitcher, which allowed runners to advance and Geloso to score for the first run of the game. However, back-to-back outs from Kayla Resto (Shelton, Conn.) and Madison LaBossiere (Griswold, Conn.) ended the threat and sent the teams to their dugouts with the Falcons up 1-0.
JWU bounced back in the top of the second by scoring five runs off five hits, including a two-run inside the park home run from Mackenzie Clee, to take its first lead of the game, 5-1.
Wildcat starter Kathleen Scheid began to settle in over the next two innings forcing back-to-back 1-2-3 innings and keeping the score locked at 5-1.
Albertus began to show life in the bottom of the fourth as LaBossiere forced a two-out walk to put a runner on for the blue-and-white, but a groundout to short stranded the left fielder at first and sent the game into the top of the fifth.
JWU continued to battle at the plate and scored an additional three runs in the top of the sixth to take a commanding seven-run lead over the Falcons, 8-1.
Albertus was unable to mount a comeback against the Wildcats as the blue-and-white was held scoreless over the next two innings, snapping its 20-game win streak at home by a final score of 8-1.
TOP PERFORMERS
- WP: Kathleen Scheid (W, 6-3) - 7.0 Innings | 1 Hit | 1 Run | 3 Walks | 6 Strikeouts
- LP: Skylar Arent (L, 12-3) - 7.0 Innings | 12 Hits | 8 Runs | 1 Walk | 4 Strikeouts
- Arent threw her ninth complete game of the season.
- The Falcons' lone hit of game one came from Stettinger in the bottom of the first.
- Julia Huzi and Clee led the Wildcat offense with three hits each, while Clee posted two RBIs and two runs scored.
HOW IT HAPPENED - Game 2
JWU jumped out to an early two-run lead in the top of first as an RBI double down the left-field line from Hailey Erickson drove in the runners from first and second with two outs.
A half-inning later, Albertus managed to cut the Wildcats' lead in half, 2-1, as Geloso scored the lone run of the frame on an infield double-play. Geloso kicked off the inning with a single up the middle before a bunt single from Franklin put runners on with no outs. As Davis battled at the plate, Geloso and Franklin put themselves in scoring position following a wild pitch from Wildcat pitcher Mackenzie Clee, but the groundout double-play took out Davis and Franklin, but smart base running allowed Geloso to score. Stettinger kept the momentum going by forcing a walk against Clee before finding herself on second following a stolen base. However, a pop-up ended the inning and left the tying run on base.
JWU continued to swing the bat as the Wildcats scored one run in the top of the second and two runs in the top of the third, giving the visitors the four-run cushion, 5-1.
Albertus broke up the Wildcats' run in the bottom of the third scoring one run following an RBI sacrifice fly from LaBossiere. The left fielders' sac fly also allowed runners to advance to second and third for Erin Molkenthin (East Haddam, Conn.), but the sophomore infielder grounded out to the first baseman for the final out of the inning.
After a scoreless fourth inning, JWU struck again by recording back-to-back two-run innings to put the game out of reach for the Falcons, 9-2.
TOP PERFORMERS
- WP: Mackenzie Clee (W,9-0) - 7.0 Innings | 7 Hits | 2 Runs | 1 Walk | 4 Strikeouts
- LP: Erin Dighello (L, 15-4) - 5.2 Innings | 11 Hits | 9 Runs | 1 Walk | 3 Strikeouts
- Ema Signore (Guilford, Conn.) also made an appearance on the mound for the Falcons.
- Stettinger led the Falcons at the plate in game two with two hits.
- Five players from Albertus also recorded a hit in the loss.
- Caroline Amorello and Alexis Falcigno finished the game for the Wildcats with a team-leading three hits.
NOTEWORTHY
- Today's doubleheader is the 55th and 56th meeting between the Falcons and Wildcats.
UP NEXT
The Albertus Magnus College softball team concludes the 2022 regular season on Saturday, April 30 with a road conference showdown against the Saints of Emmanuel (Mass.) College. Game times are set for 11 AM and 1 PM in Boston, Mass.
