Softball Blanks Sage at Skyline Conference Championship

Conference Championship Central

Written by Andrew Capitelli (SJC-LI Sports Information)

Newburgh, NY| The St. Joseph's College (L.I.) softball team blanked The Sage Colleges, 2-0, in its first game of the 2017 Skyline Conference Championship held on the campus of Mount Saint Mary College on Thursday afternoon.

The second-seeded Golden Eagles (20-15) move to the winners bracket of the double-elimination tournament and will face top-seeded Mount Saint Mary at 11:00 am on Saturday morning.

The Gators fall to 20-18 with the loss and face elimination when they play Farmingdale State in the losers bracket game at 1:00 pm on Saturday.

SJC worked its way out of a two-man on situation in the top of the second inning and paved the way for junior Valerie Scura (1-for-2) to score both Ashley Steponaitis (0-for-2) and Jillian McFadzen (1-for-2) with a two-RBI double in the bottom half of the inning to put the Golden Eagles up 2-0.

Madeline Sganga (0-for-3) nearly extended SJC's lead in the bottom of the fifth when she attempted to steal home but was caught in the act. Gabrielle CInquemani (0-for-2) attempted to take third in the bottom of the sixth and was also tagged out.

Brittany Brooks' (1-for-3) double and Alexa Silk's (2-for-4) single for Sage in the top of the seventh ensured the Gators' tying runs were on first and third, but consecutive outs with the next two at bats sealed the 2-0 victory for SJC.

Theresa Cardello (11-4) recorded six strikeouts and allowed five hits in a complete game effort for St. Joseph's, while Sage's Amy Hart (11-11) fanned three batters and allowed two runs in 4.0 innings of action.

Due to expected inclement weather on Friday, all games scheduled will be played on Saturday. The day's complete schedule can be see below.

Game 5: #1 Mount Saint Mary vs. #2 St. Joseph's-L.I. – 11 a.m.
Game 6: #4 Farmingdale State vs. #3 Sage – 1 p.m.
Game 7: Loser Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6 – 3 p.m.