FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Seventh-seeded Albertus Magnus College went on the road on Tuesday to take down sixth-seeded Saint Joseph's College of Maine, 1-0, while fifth-seeded Emmanuel College held off eighth-seeded Mount Ida College, 5-4, in the must-win first round of the 2016 Great Northeast Athletic Tournament (GNAC) Softball Tournament.
As a result, both programs advance into the double-elimination portion of the tournament, as Emmanuel will take on fourth-seeded Norwich University in East Boston (2:00 PM) on Friday in a contest hosted by top-seeded Suffolk University, while Albertus Magnus draws third-seeded Johnson & Wales University (1:00 PM) at second-seeded University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford, Conn.
Suffolk will then take on the Emmanuel-Norwich winner at approximately 4:30 PM, with the Albertus-JWU winner taking on USJ at approximately 3:30 PM.
All six teams are guaranteed to appear in at least one game on Saturday at East Boston Memorial Park, with Suffolk as the host, with the GNAC champion set to be crowned on Sunday in East Boston. For the complete conference tournament schedule, please see below.
#7 ALBERTUS MAGNUS 1, #6 SAINT JOSEPH'S MAINE 0
STANDISH, Maine – Sophomore pitcher Megan Ferraro (Branford, Conn.) threw a complete-game shutout and junior infielder Rachel Cataudella (Shelton, Conn.) hit an RBI single to lead the Albertus Magnus College softball team past Saint Joseph's (Maine), 1-0, on Tuesday afternoon in the opening round of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament at Bailey Field.
With their third shutout-win of the spring against the Monks, the Falcons improve to 22-15 overall. Saint Joseph's sees its two-game winning streak and conference title hopes come to an end to move to 22-18 on the year.
Ferraro kept the hosts off balance all day at the dish, scattering six hits and fanning three hitters. She also walked just two batters en route to her fourth complete-game shutout of the spring. Ferraro retired the side in order in the first and fifth innings on the way to her team-leading 14th win of the season.
On the opposite side, Kristal Smith was masterful in defeat for the Monks. Smith threw a complete game, two-hitter and surrendered just one run, while striking out five Falcons.
After reaching on a fielder's choice in the top of the third, AMC junior Megan Kelly (Bronx, N.Y.) stole second to move into scoring position. Smith would bear down and strike out the next Falcon to come to the plate before Cataudella stepped in with two outs. The third-year infielder then sent a base hit up the middle that brought the speedy Kelly racing home with the game's lone run.
The Monks threatened in the bottom of the fourth, putting a runner in scoring position with no outs thanks to a walk and a stolen base. After back-to-back pop outs, left fielder Megen Pollini sent a grounder through the left side to put runners on the corners. Ferraro induced a grounder to second from the following Monk hitter to get out of the jam and keep the hosts off the board.
In the sixth, Saint Joseph's again put runners on the corners thanks to two consecutive two-out singles before Ferraro again got out of the jam with a groundout.
With two outs and the tying run at first in bottom of the seventh, Albertus Magnus senior center fielder Alyssa Puccilli (Milford, Conn.) made a running catch to seal the victory.
Junior designated player Shyleen Ortiz (New Britain, Conn.) had the other hit for the guests.
The Falcons have kept the Monks scoreless over the last 24 innings. The last times SJC crossed the plate against AMC was in the fourth inning of game two in a doubleheader last March.
Courtesy of Albertus Magnus Athletics Communications.
#5 EMMANUEL 5, #8 MOUNT IDA 4
BOSTON, Mass. – The Emmanuel College softball team posted a 5-4 victory over Mount Ida College Tuesday evening in First Round action of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference tournament at Roberto Clemente Field. The No. 5 Saints improve to 23-15 on the year and advance to the weekend bracket while the loss ends the year for the No. 8 Mustangs, closing the season with a 13-22 record.
Sophomore third baseman Abbey Alexiades (Kingston, Mass.) got the scoring started in the bottom of the first inning with a solo blast to centerfield putting the Saints on top, 1-0. Alexiades smashed a 1-2 pitch over the centerfield fence for her first homer of the year and her second career blast.
The Mustangs threatened in the third but Emmanuel worked out of a bases loaded jam to maintain the 1-0 lead. Junior Sam Laferriere (Tewksbury, Mass.) worked a one-out walk before junior Michele MacDonald (N. Dighton, Mass.) reached via an infield single. Junior Lucianna Medici (Riverside, R.I.) singled up the middle with a crisp line drive, hit too hard to allow Laferriere to score and load the bases for Mount Ida with two down. EC was able to induce a ground ball to get the force out to end the inning.
Mount Ida loaded the bases again in the fourth inning on a hard hit single up the middle by freshman Kelsey Weston (Hampstead, N.H.). EC junior pitcher Jill Kilcoyne (Worcester, Mass.) worked her way out of the jam for the second straight inning, recording back-to-back strikeouts to retire the side and preserve Emmanuel's 1-0 cushion.
The Saints bumped the lead to 2-0 with the help of an unearned run in the bottom of the fourth. Freshman catcher Casey Sheehan (Medway, Mass.) led off the inning with a single and came around to score following a Mount Ida miscue to account for the two-run advantage.
Mount Ida got the run back in the fifth to cut the host's lead to 2-1. MacDonald led off with an infield single. She'd get into scoring position stealing second and advancing to third on and error, eventually scoring on an RBI single up the middle by junior catcher Emma Morton (Winchester, Mass.) to make it a one-run game.
Emmanuel added an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth to regain a two-run lead at 3-1. Freshman centerfield Olivia Burgos (Newington, Conn.) led off the frame with a double down the left field line and advanced to third on an infield single by senior Marianne Halas (Lynn, Mass.). Senior second baseman Kerrianne Vulpis (East Rockaway, N.Y.) delivered a sac-fly to drive in Burgos increase the lead back to two.
The Saints put the game away in the sixth with two more runs to make it 5-1. Burgos delivered the big blow with a two-out, two-RBI triple to right field. The runs would prove to be huge at Mount Ida added two runs in the top of the seventh, stranding the tying run on base before Kilcoyne and the Saints retired the side for the 5-4 win.
Kilcoyne earned the win to improve to 16-6 on the year while Nicole Handzell (Palmer, Mass.) suffered the loss to end the season with a 9-13 record.
Courtesy of Emmanuel Athletics Communications.
First Round - Tuesday, May 3 (single elimination)
Game 1: #5 Emmanuel 5, #8 Mount Ida 4 | BOX
Game 2: #7 Albertus Magnus 1, #6 Saint Joseph's Maine 0 | BOX
Second Round - Friday, May 6 (double-elim begins)
Game 3: #5 Emmanuel vs. #4 Norwich (at #1 Suffolk, at East Boston) - 2:00 PM
Game 4: #7 Albertus Magnus vs. #3 Johnson & Wales (at #2 USJ) - 1:00 PM
Game 5: Game 3 winner at #1 Suffolk - 4:30 PM
Game 6: Game 4 winner at #2 USJ - 3:30 PM
Semifinals - Saturday, May 7 (hosted by #1 Suffolk, East Boston Memorial Park)
Game 7: Game 4 loser vs. Game 5 loser (elim game) - 10:00 AM
Game 8: Game 3 loser 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 8 (hosted by #1 Suffolk, East Boston Memorial Park)
Game 11: Game 9 loser vs. Game 10 winner (elim game) - 10:00 AM
Game 12: Game 11 winner vs. Game 9 winner - 12:30 PM
Game 13: if necessary - 3:00 PM