BRIARCLIFF, NY- The Setters connected on four homeruns, including the fourth of the season for Lana Buchbinder (San Francisco, CA/George Washington) (San Francisco, CA/George Washington) as Pace split #14 Caldwell College in a non-conference twin bill. The Cougars took the opener 6-5 but the Setters took the nightcap 13-4 in six innings.
The Setters move to 9-17 on the season, while Caldwell loses only its third game of the season to go to 21-3 overall.
In the opener, the Setters struck in the opening inning as Nikole Larm (Brewster, NY/Brewster) (Brewster, NY/Brewster) blasted a grand slam for a 4-0 lead. The teams traded runs in the fourth as Jeane Drury (Flanders, NJ/Morris Catholic High School) (Flanders, NJ/Morris Catholic) drove in a run on a fielder's choice. The Cougars rallied in the final three innings as they scored one in the fifth and took the lead with four in the seventh to take the opener.
Kaitlynn Nelson (Ojai, CA/Nordhoff) (Ojai, CA/Nordhoff) tossed 4 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits and struck out five. Kira Knight (Benicia, CA/Benicia) took the loss to fall to 0-2 on the season as she went 2 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on five hits and struck out two.
The Setters got the bats going in the nightcap as they rapped out 14 hits and scored in five of the six innings. Pace got a run in the opening inning and added to their lead with four in the second and third via the long ball. In the second, Buchbinder got the offense going with an RBI single and Drury came through later in the frame with a three-run shot for a 5-1 lead. The following inning, Hana Wright (Hillsboro, OR/Valley Catholic) (Hillsboro, OR/Valley Catholic) hit a one-out solo homerun and Buchbinder hit a two-run blast later in the inning.
Pace added some insurance runs in the fourth as Natalie Gellos (Seattle, WA/Holy Names Academy) (Seattle, WA/Holy Names Academy) singled in a run in the fourth to extend to a 10-4 Setters lead. The game ended in the sixth as Haley Hernandez (West Hills, CA/El Camino Real) (West Hills, CA/El Camino Real) ripped a triple to left-center to score two runs.
For the Setters, Drury scored three runs in the nightcap, going 3-for-4 with three RBI, while Hernandez also went 3-for-4 and Buchbinder was 2-for-3 with three RBI and two runs scored. Nelson got the start, going 3 2/3 innings, allowing four runs (two earned) on six hits, while striking out two. Caitlin McCann (San Mateo, CA/Notre Dame) came on in relief, pitching 2 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits to improve to 6-8 on the season.
The Setters travel to Saint Rose on Thursday, April 10 for a single Northeast-10 Southwest Division game at 7 pm.
