ALBANY, N.Y. – The Pace University softball team earned the three-game series victory over the College of Saint Rose on Saturday, sweeping a doubleheader over the Golden Knights with scores of 7-3 and 8-1 in Northeast-10 Conference action at Cathy Haker Field. The Setters win the weekend's three-game series despite dropping Friday's matchup by a score of 3-2. The Setters are now 21-11 overall and 14-4 in NE-10 games, while Saint Rose falls to 10-22 and 5-11.
Game 1: Pace 7, Saint Rose 3
The Setters avenged Friday afternoon's loss to the Golden Knights with a 7-3 victory in Saturday's opener. They got things started in the top of the second after freshman first baseman
Annie Carberry (Colorado Springs, CO/Pine Creek) led off the inning with a single. Sophomore left fielder
Tara Bernstein (Glen Oaks, NY/Bayside High School) then sacrificed her over to second. Pace caught a break when freshman designated player
Brooklyn Frazier (Edmond, OK/Bishop McGunness) reached on an error by the second baseman that allowed Carberry to score and give the Setters the early lead.
Neither team could put a run across again until the top of the fifth. The Setters loaded the bases without an out, and then junior second baseman
Haley Hernandez (West Hills, CA/El Camino Real) walked to bring in another run. Sophomore center fielder
Larissa Labs (Carlsbad, CA/San Marcos High School) then scored on a wild pitch, and an errant throw by the catcher allowed sophomore shortstop
Ashley Lew (New City, NY/Clarkstown High School North) to score as well, making it a 4-0 lead for Pace. Hernandez later scored on another wild pitch to make it 5-0. With runners on the corners, Carberry grounded into a double play, but sophomore third baseman
Surina Sandhu (Elk Grove, CA/Elk Grove High School) was able to score from third, leaving Pace up, 6-0.
The Golden Knights managed to load the bases without an out in the bottom of the fifth, much like the Setters did in the visitor's half of the inning. Pace got the first out on a force out at home, but a walk brought in Saint Rose's first run of the game. A pop-up to second base then allowed a runner to score from third on a sacrifice fly, leaving Pace with a 6-2 edge after five.
Hernandez picked up her second RBI of the game in the top of the sixth after smacking a double down the left-field line to bring in Lew from second. Pace's lead then fell to 7-3 in the bottom of the inning, but junior starter
Kaitlynn Nelson (Ojai, CA/Nordhoff) halted the scoring from that point on to give Pace the win.
Nelson improve to 8-4 on the year after going the full seven innings. She allowed three runs on five hits, and struck out eight batters. Saint Rose starter Roma Mazzariello took the loss to fall to 2-9.
Hernandez with 1-for-3 with two RBIs, a run and a double. Carberry batted 2-for-4 with a run scored. Lew hit 1-for-3 with two runs and a stolen base. Sophomore right fielder
Jordan Chillinsky (Carlsbad, CA/Carlsbad High School) also went 1-for-3 with a run.
Saint Rose was led by center fielder Meghan Reynolds, who went 2-for-3 with a run scored. Second baseman Taylor Solomon hit 1-for-1 with an RBI, while Katie Shevlin hit a single in a pinch-hit opportunity, and later scored a run.
Game 2: Pace 8, Saint Rose 1
What looked to be a close matchup early on turned into a big victory for the Setters in game two. Pace scored after an error on a double steal in the first, but Saint Rose tied the game in its first at bat after a fielder's choice with runners on the corners.
Pace took the lead for good in the top of the third. Labs led off the inning with a double, and then Lew singled to center to put two runners on, a sacrifice bunt by Hernandez moved both runners into scoring position. Labs then scored on a wild pitch to make it 2-1 in favor of the Setters. The lead doubled when Sandhu doubled to right, scoring Lew to give the Setters a 3-1 advantage.
The Setters increased their lead over the duration the game, highlighted by a four-run rally in the top of the sixth. Sandhu provided the big blow in the inning, a two-run blast to left that made it 8-1.
Sandhu went 3-for-3 in Saturday's finale, knocking in four runs and scoring once with a home run and a double. Hernandez also hit 3-for-3 with two runs, an RBI and a double. Lew batted 3-for-5 with three runs scored, an RBI and a double. Labs made it four Setters with three hits in the game, going 3-for-4 with a double and a run.
Saint Rose was led by catcher Zoe Dubois, who hit 2-for-3. Third baseman Jadyn Costello hit 2-for-4 with a run.
Senior starter
Caitlin McCann (San Mateo, CA/Notre Dame) kept her strong streak going, giving up just one run in seven innings to improve to 7-4 on the year. Saint Rose starter Nicole Wickham went the full seven innings, but allowed 16 hits and eight runs (three earned).
Having won six of their last seven games, all within the Northeast-10's Southwest Division, the Setters are now set to take on Southern Connecticut State for a third time this year on Tuesday, April 19, at 3:30 p.m. at Pace Field.
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