Purchase, NY
(April 10, 2016) – The Sage Colleges edged host Purchase College in both ends of a Skyline Conference doubleheader Sunday, taking the opener 2-1 in late fashion before completing the sweep in a 4-0, game two win that was highlighted by three runs in the fifth inning.
Pitching was on full display in the twin bill as the Gators improved to 12-10 overall and 7-1 in league play, dropping the Panthers to 12-4 on the spring, including 4-4 in the conference.
The Panthers stranded a runner at second in each of the first three innings, as both teams matched zeroes early in game one.
Sage left a runner on in the first and had two runners on in the third on consecutive errors, but a crisply turned double play by third baseman
Briana Leon (JR/Glen Cove, NY) to first baseman
Antonina Fiore (SO/Mount Sinai, NY) ended the threat and the inning. Leon stepped on third for the force and fired across the diamond to finish off the inning.
Both starters were strong in game one. Pitchers
Samantha Alonzo (SR/Wappingers Falls, NY) and Katie Kovage kept the game scoreless until the bottom of the fourth, when Alonzo lined a single up the middle and
Mary Adams (JR/Milton, PA) followed two batters later. With two outs, Adams delivered a double to left, plating Alonzo from first for a 1-0 lead.
In the top of the fifth, the Gators scored their first run. Sage started with a walk and then got a double from Kiersten Duncan. Her double to center put Courtney Laughlin on third. Laughlin would score from third on an error on the same play, tying the game at 1-1. Alonzo would settle down and record three straight outs (strikeout, fly out and pop up), stranding Duncan at second.
It remained 1-1 through the top of the sixth, when Sage threatened again, hitting back-to-back singles with two outs. Alonzo regrouped and struck out Laughlin to retire the side and preserve the tie, heading into the bottom of the sixth.
Purchase failed to score in the bottom half, but Sage slipped past the Panthers in the top of the seventh. A leadoff single followed by a fielder's choice and a groundout put a runner at second for Katy Rimawi, who singled in the go-ahead run.
In the end, Kovage outdueled Alonzo in the narrow win for the Gators. Kovage, who allowed three hits and one earned run, striking out five, improves to 4-2. Alonzo struck out four over seven. She is now 5-2.
Adams led the Panthers offensively, with the double and the RBI. Rimawi paced Sage, going 1-for-4 with the go-ahead RBI.
In game two, Sage scratched across a run in the first off starter
Nicole Fortuna (JR/New Rochelle, NY). A leadoff single followed by two outs, a fly out and groundout, put a runner in scoring position for Morgan Dunn. Dunn lined a single to center, where rookie
Kelly Hayes (FR/Staten Island, NY) came up firing to the plate. Her throw was on line, but the runner slide under the tag for the 1-0 lead.
In the home half, the Panthers stranded
Lisa Kentris (FR/Latham, NY) at second. Kentris, who hit a leadoff single, moved to second on a wild pitch by Sage starter Lindsay Brace. But Brace settled down and got out of the inning, recording a groundout and a strikeout.
In the second, the Panthers held the deficit at 1-0, despite two runners in scoring position. Fortuna threw a wild pitch, but recovered as Leon – now catching game two – got the runner out at the plate. Fortuna regrouped and struck out the final hitter of the inning, stranding a runner at third.
Two walks and a groundout put a pair of runners on second and third for the Panthers in the bottom of the second, but Fortuna couldn't push them across, as Brace eluded trouble in another pitcher's duel.
The Panthers kept pace in a tight game, once again threatening in the third. Purchase had two runners in scoring position with two outs, but Brace managed to pitch around trouble once more, firing a strikeout to keep the one-run lead.
In the top of the fourth, Sage had runners at the corners with no outs, before advancing the runner from first to second and having two runners in scoring position with two outs.
April Uhl (JR/Jackson Heights, NY) and Adams both made nice plays on the left side of the infield, as Fortuna and company got out of the jam. Uhl made the first out at third, snatching a pop up before making a diving stop and keeping the runner at third in both putouts. Adams then nabbed a line drive to close the inning.
Brace pitched a one-two-three inning in the bottom of the fourth.
The Gators then added some insurance. Despite recording two outs, two early singles paved the way for Sage's second run as Jessica Adams singled home Alexa Silk. Laughlin followed with another two-out hit. Her single plated two more runners for a 4-0 lead.
The Panthers wrapped two singles in the fifth (Kentris, Leon), putting runners at the corners with two outs. However, Sage was able to navigate around trouble once more, holding the Panthers scoreless on a strikeout by Brace to end the inning.
Both teams left runners in scoring position in the bottom of the fifth and the top of the sixth, respectively. Brace and Fortuna matched zeroes, heading into the bottom of the seventh.
Brace sealed the win with a scoreless seventh to improve to 6-4. She finished with eight strikeouts.
Fortuna took her first loss of the season in defeat. She is now 7-1.
The Panthers were led by Kentris and her two hits. Sage was led offensively by Adams, who went 3-for-4 with one RBI, and Laughlin, who finished with two RBI in the win.
