PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – The Pace University softball team completed a doubleheader sweep of Le Moyne College Thursday, April 27. The Setters took game one 2-1 in walk-off fashion, then won game two 5-0.
Game One: Pace 2, Le Moyne 1
Sophomore pitcher Gisselle Garcia (Lemon Grove, Calif./Mater Dei Catholic) got the start for Pace (24-22, 13-9 NE10) and was in control early, striking out the side in each of the first two innings.
The Setters got a runner to third in the bottom of the second but couldn't push the first run of the game across as the teams played to a scoreless tie into the third.
Garcia went right back to work, striking out the side for the third straight inning to start the game. Le Moyne (23-20, 12-10 NE10) took the lead in the top of the fourth, as Alyssa Dybacz hit one over the left centerfield wall for a solo home run to put the Dolphins ahead 1-0.
Pace drew even in the bottom of the fourth, getting an RBI double from senior outfielder Gwen Pederson (Sylmar, Calif./Granada Hills Charter) to knot the score at 1-1.
Garcia worked around a one-out walk in the fifth, keeping the game tied at one. She kept the Dolphins off the board in the sixth as well, but the Setters couldn't take advantage in the bottom of the inning after a leadoff single by freshman second baseman Sophie Valle (Chino, Calif./Walnut), sending the game to the seventh still tied.
With two and nobody on in the bottom of the final inning, a double by senior catcher Carolina Iturriaga (North Hills, Calif./Grover Cleveland) put the Setters in position to win the game. Junior Jenny Gordon (Colonia, N.J./John F. Kennedy Memorial) the came up to pinch hit and delivered a walk-off RBI single for Pace, as the home team took the opener 2-1.
Iturriaga went 2-for-3 in game one, while Garcia pitched a complete game, allowing one run on two hits while striking out 13 batters.
Game Two: Pace 5, Le Moyne 0
Junior pitcher Anna Acevedo (Brooklyn, N.Y./Fontbonne Hall Academy) got the ball in game two and started with a 1-2-3 inning in the first. After the Setters went down in order, Acevedo worked around a one-out single in the second, picking up a strikeout to end the inning.
Pace put up the first run of the game in the bottom of the second, getting an RBI double by sophomore Brianna Shea (Oceanside, Calif./El Camino) with two out to take a 1-0 lead. However, Shea was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple to end the inning.
A one-out double by Avery Linn had Le Moyne threatening to tie the game in the third, and the Dolphins eventually got runners on the corners with two out. A line drive to right looked like it would tie the game and possibly give Le Moyne the lead, but a diving catch by sophomore outfielder Alexa Borino (Lyndhurst, N.J./Lyndhurst) ended the inning and helped Pace keep its one-run lead.
A pair of singles put runners on first and second for the Setters in the home half of the fourth, and a walk loaded the bases with one out. Another walk forced in a run to make it a 2-0 lead for Pace, then freshman Haley Rusbuldt (Lakewood, Wash./Lakes) delivered the big blow, blasting a three-run double to centerfield to extend the lead to 5-0.
Acevedo continued her strong performance, putting down the Dolphins in order in the fifth and sixth. After Pace was retired in the sixth, Acevedo came out and again had a 1-2-3 inning to close out a 5-0 victory in game two.
Iturriaga had two more hits in game two, while Rusbuldt had one hit and three RBI.Acevedo went the distance, going all seven innings while allowing no runs on three hits while striking out four batters.
Up Next
The Setters finish out the regular season Friday, April 28, when they host the College of Saint Rose in a doubleheader, starting at 1 p.m.
