Softball Sweeps Purchase, Locks up #4 Seed in Skyline Playoffs

Written by Andrew Capitelli (SJC-LI Sports Information)

Purchase, NY| The St. Joseph's College softball team collected a pair of wins, 11-3 and 5-2, in a doubleheader with SUNY Purchase on the road on Monday afternoon to clinch the #4 seed in the Skyline Conference playoffs set to begin on Wednesday.

With the wins, the Golden Eagles wrap the 2016 regular season with a 21-13 (13-5 Skyline) record and will host Farmingdale State in the first round. The Panthers enter the playoffs as the #6 seed with a 19-11 (7-11) mark.

Game 1: SJC 11, Purchase 3

Senior Mallory McClafferty put the Golden Eagles on the board in the top of the second with a solo homer, but Purchase would knot up the score at one with a Lisa Kentris RBI single to left field in the bottom of the third.

A busy fifth saw the Golden Eagles post four runs, beginning with an RBI single from Jillian McFadzen that scored Elizabeth Rohme. Next, Arbiter would drive in Lindsey Corriss with an RBI single of her own before McFadzen advanced home on an error by the Purchase second baseman. McClafferty wrapped the inning's scoring with a sac fly to right that allowed Arbiter to advance home.

Up 5-1 heading into the seventh inning, SJC found six more runs (RBI singles for Gabrielle Cinquemani and Rohme, sacrifice bunt from Nicole Baron and an RBI double for McFadzen) to pull ahead 11-1. Purchase squeezed out two runs in the bottom of the seventh but took the inevitable loss by the score of 11-3.

McClafferty picked up the complete game victory for SJC fanning seven batters and allowing seven hits. Purchase's Samantha Alonzo (8-5) struck out only one Golden Eagle and allowed seven earned runs in a losing effort.

McFadzen (3-5, 3 RBI's, 2 runs), Arbiter (3-5, 1 RBI, 2 runs), McClafferty (2-3, 2 RBI's, 2 runs) and Rohme (2-4, 1 RBI, 2 runs) all put forth multi-hit efforts in a game that saw SJC generate a total of 13 hits.

Game 2: SJC 5, Purchase 2

SJC opened the scoring in the top of the first when Arbiter reached on an error by the Purchase shortstop, allowing Corriss to advance home. McClafferty's two-run homer—her seventh home run of the season and third in two days—would later extend the Golden Eagles' lead to three runs (3-0) in the top of the third.

Purchase got one back in the bottom of the fourth when Kentris advanced home on a wild pitch, but in the top of the fifth McFadzen's sac fly to right scored Corriss to restore SJC's three-run lead before Megan Leun's RBI double made it a four-run game (5-1).

Briana Leon's sacrifice bunt in the bottom of the seventh would see April Unl head home, but it was all Purchase would muster as SJC grabbed the 5-2 victory.

McClafferty (10-4) claimed her fourth victory in two days, striking out four batters and allowing just three hits in four innings of work. Sandra Foster threw three innings of relief and fanned two Panthers.

Corriss and McClafferty each went 2-for-4 with two runs—the latter of which also drove in a pair.

Wednesday's first round matchup with #5 Farmingdale will be played at SJC Softball Stadium at 4:00 PM. Live stats will be available here.