SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Skidmore College softball team rallied with four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning in game two, leading to a sweep of visiting Cazenovia after a 9-7 win in the home opener at Wagner Park on a cold Saturday afternoon. The Thoroughbreds won game one, 5-4.
Skidmore improves to 6-6 on the season, while Cazenovia falls to 5-7.
Game two started with Skidmore jumping out to a 4-0 lead after two innings, thanks to daft baserunning by
Lizette Roman-Johnston and
Nicole Rosner, and RBIs by Rosner and
Hannah Paolucci. After Cazenovia hit a two-run homer to cap a three-run third inning, the Thoroughbreds went to work in the bottom of the fifth, as
Jill Strileckis brought home Paolucci on a single to right center field, increasing the score to 5-3.
Cazenovia had a big sixth inning, getting the first three women on base, before Brynn Waloven hit a grandslam on a 1-0 pitch to left center field, giving the Wildcats a 7-5 lead.
Skidmore would return the favor in the bottom of the frame. Rosner got on board with a lead-off double, before Roman-Johnston brought the rookie home with a double to left field. The next batter,
Karly Fishkin, singled home Roman-Johnston, then
Kristina Foley singled to center, scoring Fishkin to give Skidmore an 8-7 lead. The Thoroughbreds started the inning with five straight hits, capped off by a hard-hitting single through the left side by
Emily Popp. Skidmore would later score on a passed ball, taking a 9-7 advantage into the seventh. Rosner would pick up the win in relief, retiring the side in order to finish the sweep.
Rosner pitched three innings of relief, allowing four runs on four hits, improving her record to 3-1 on the season. Popp started the game, striking out four of the first six batters she faced, allowing just three earned on two hits in four innings for the no-decision.
Roman-Johnston would go 2-for-3, stealing a pair of bases. Fishkin, Paolucci, Strileckis, and Rosner all went 2-for-4, with Paolucci and Rosner knocking a pair of doubles. Six different Thoroughbreds would tally an RBI. Skidmore scored its nine runs on 14 hits in the win.
Six different Cazenovia players tallied a hit in the second game, with Waloven and McKenzie Harris providing the offense via homers. Harris would take the loss, allowing seven earned in six innings, striking out four.
Game one saw a dominant performance by
Amanda Carilli in the circle, as she pitched a complete game shutout, allowing no runs on eight hits, needing just 60 pitches to improve her record to 3-2 on the season.
Offensively, Skidmore jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second, thanks to a two-run, inside-the-park home run by Paolucci and a
Heather Mak groundout two batters later, which scored Foley at third. The Thoroughbreds would tack on a pair of runs in the fourth, thanks to RBI knocks by Roman-Johnston and Fishkin.
In the seventh, with the lead at 5-0, a two-out error gave Cazenovia its first run. Two batters later, with runners on first and second, Alexandria Clifford homered to right field, as Skidmore held a slim 5-4 lead. Carilli would retire the next batter, forcing a fly out to right field to end the contest.
Skidmore would score its five runs on 11 hits in game one. Foley was perfect in game one, going 2-for-2 with a walk and two runs scored. Roman-Johnston and Paolucci would go 2-for-3, with Paolucci tallying two RBIs and Roman-Johnston adding another. Fishkin would go 2-for-4, adding an RBI.
Megan Krieger went 2-for-3, scoring a run for the Wildcats. Clifford went 1-for-3, tallying three RBIs. Kelsey Morgan would take the loss, allowing five earned on five hits, striking out five batters in six innings.
Skidmore returns to action on Sunday, hosting Utica in an afternoon doubleheader. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.
