Softball Suffers Gator-Sized Sweep at Sage

Troy, N.Y  – The St. Joseph's softball team suffered a sweep by Skyline Conference opponent Sage College on Saturday afternoon at Robison Field.  Sage won the first game, 12-8, and then picked up an 8-0 win in five innings in the nightcap, giving SJC their first Skyline losses of the season. Sage improves to 10-10 overall and 4-2 in the league, while SJC is now 12-11 overall and 5-2 in the conference.

In the first game there were a pair of ties and several lead changes before the Gators jumped on top for good with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. The Gators had two more in the bottom of the fifth and three more in the bottom of the sixth and held on for the 12-8 win after a Golden Eagle rally was cut short in the top of the seventh.

Sage's sophomore pitcher Lindsay Brace got the win after 6.1 innings of work with four strikeouts and seven earned runs off 11 hits and stands at 4-6. Junior Katie Kovage picked up the save allowing just one hit in her two thirds of an inning of work.

Offensively, Sage got a pinch hit two run home run from freshman Courtney Haff in the bottom of the fifth inning. Her first career home run came on the heels of a three run shot by junior first baseman Morgan Dunn in the bottom half of the fourth innings, giving Sage an 8-4 lead.

SJC's senior Nicole Reda (Saint James, N.Y./Our Lady of Mercy) was 2-4 with a two-run homerun in the top of the second to give SJC their first lead of the game, 2-1, after two innings.

Junior catcher Casey Thomas (Bellmore, N.Y./Mepham) was 3-4 with a run scored and one RBI for the Golden Eagles.

Junior pitcher Mallory McClafferty (Bellport, N.Y./St. John the Baptist) worked 4.2 innings with eight earned runs off 10 hits and four strikeouts as she suffered the loss, dropping to 5-3. Rookie Sandra Foster (East Meadow, N.Y./East Meadow) worked a third of an inning, while rookie Lauren Bututla (Hauppauge, N.Y./Hauppauge) worked an inning with three earned runs off three hits with one walk.

In the nightcap, Sage shutout SJC and held the Golden Eagles to just three hits. Kovage worked the complete game shutout and improves to 4-3 after she fanned three in her appearance.

Offensively, Sage sophomore short stop Jess Adams as she belted a two-run homerun in the bottom of the fifth and finished the game with a 2-2 effort with two runs scored. Kovage was 3-3 at the plate with two RBI's, while Dunn was 2-3 with an RBI and a run scored.

SJC's Buturla took the loss after her four-plus innings of work with two strikeouts. She yielded six earned runs off 12 hits and falls to 4-6.

SJC is back in action on Sunday, traveling to Sarah Lawrence for a noon Skyline Conference doubleheader.

(Recap courtesy of Sage Sports Information)