Sage and MCLA split action on Tuesday
Troy, NY---- The Sage Colleges softball team hosted the Trailblazers of MCLA on Tuesday at Robison Field in a non-conference double header. Sage won the first game 7-1 and nearly rallied to take the nightcap, but fell 10-8. Sage is now 9-16 overall and MCLA is now 9-9.
Sage returns to action on Saturday hosting St. Joseph's College in a Skyline Conference doubleheader at Robison Field at 1:00 p.m. Sage will honor senior Allison Bishop (Troy, NY/Lansingburgh) on Saturday in conjunction with Senior Day.
Game # 1 Sage 7-1 MCLA
Sage's freshman short stop Hillary Faas (East Greenbush, NY/Columbia) put the Gators on the scoreboard first with a solo homerun in the bottom of the second inning. MCLA tied the game in the top of the third inning before junior Megan Welcome (Cohoes, NY/Cohoes) erupted for the first of her three doubles in the game. She finished the contest going 3-4 with three RBI's and a run scored. Welcome now has 19 career doubles and moved into the No. 3 spot on Sage's career list, tied with fellow Gator, Allison Bishop. Junior Rachel Smith (Valatie, NY/Ichabod Crane) tallied her first career home run as a Gator when she hit a three run shot over the left field fence in the bottom of the fifth and gave Sage a 7-1 lead. Smith was 1-3 with three RBIs for the game.
Sage's sophomore pitcher Kelsey Newberg (New Britain, CT/New Britain) picked up the complete game win as she fanned four and yielded just two hits with no earned runs. She improved to 4-6.
MCLA's senior pitcher Kelly Pirzl (Pittsfield, MA/Wahconah Regional) took the loss to fall to 3-5 after she allowed seven earned runs off six hits with four walks and a strikeout.
Game # 2 MCLA 10-8 Sage
MCLA made the most of a strong first inning as they tallied seven runs in the first inning, but Sage hung tough and fought back and had the go ahead run at the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Senior Kate Ouellette (Norwood, MA/Norwood) had a home run for the Trailblazers in the first inning to drive in two runs, while junior catcher Kayla Koumjian (Watervliet, NY/Shaker) had a double and drove in two runs in the inning.
Sage gradually chipped away and tallied two runs in the bottom of the sixth and another three runs in the bottom of the seventh, but fell 10-8 despite some clutch hits. Junior Ashley Eberle (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem) added a double and a pair of RBIs for the Gators after a 3-4 outing in the game at the plate. Freshman Katie Karkoski (Ticonderoga, NY/Ticonderoga) added a 3-5 effort with a pair of RBIs.
Freshman Chantal Ceragioli (New Paltz, NY/New Paltz) started for the Gators and suffered the loss to drop to 0-1 on the year. Also working for Sage was Newberg, who fanned 5 in 5.2 innings. She struck out nine on the day and now has a team-leading 60 strikeouts on the season. She continues to add to her season leading strikeout total and is now in 3 on the Sage single-season performance list, which is led by Maria DeNovio (72, 2004).
MCLA's freshman pitcher Ainsley MacDonnald (White River Junction, VT/Hartford) picked up the win after walking four and yielded eight earned runs off 12 hits. She improved to 4-1 for the Trailblazers.
