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Knights take two in opening softball rivalry against SLU

Posted 4/20/14

Potsdam, NY - After opening the season with 19 straight losses, the Clarkson University Softball team has found a groove with four wins in the last five games in three straight victories overall …

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Knights take two in opening softball rivalry against SLU

Posted

Potsdam, NY - After opening the season with 19 straight losses, the Clarkson University Softball team has found a groove with four wins in the last five games in three straight victories overall including a doubleheader sweep of Liberty League foe St. Lawrence, 6-4 and 1-0, on Saturday afternoon at Scott Field.

The Golden Knights moved to 4-20 overall and 2-6 in the Libery League, while the Saints dropped to 8-16 overall and 1-9 in conference games. Clarkson will play non-league doubleheaders against SUNY Canton and Alfred State early next week before closing out the conference season over the weekend against Skidmore and Rensselaer.

In the first game, the two teams traded zeroes for the first few innings before Clarkson got on top in the bottom of the third and never looked back. Morgan Tennyson (Chestertown, NY) led off with a double to left and was replaced as a pinch-runner with Jennifer Latham (Fort Ann, NY). Two batters later, an error by the Saints' second baseman allowed Latham to come home with the game's opening run. In the bottom of the fourth, Clarkson took off with four more more runs, this time without the help of another team's defense. Clarkson loaded the bases on a single from Ali Schwenzfeier (East Haddam, CT) and walks by Kat Tamburro (Frankfort, NY) and Morgan Tennyson, and MacKenzie Pelton (Glens Falls, NY) shot a single to left-center to score a pair to make the score 3-0. After another single from Jamie Bridge (Plymouth, CT) reloaded the bases, Lou Terwilliger (Putney, VT) singled to center to plate two more and give Clarkson a 5-0 edge.

St. Lawrence responded in the top of the fifth inning with back-to-back hits from Aisha O'Connor and Nicole Matthews and with two outs both runners came home on an error to cut the score to 5-2. In the bottom half of the frame, Tirzah Smith (Tully, NY) took a 1-1 offering over the wall in left field for her first collegiate home run and gave Clarkson a 6-2 lead, but St. Lawrence wouldn't go away, adding a pair of runs in the top of the sixth. However, with the bases loaded, Lisa Ferrucci (Amsterdam, NY) made an outstanding backhanded running catch in right field that would have scored at least two runs had it dropped, initially snow-coning the catch and then quickly gathering her glove close to her body to make sure the ball did not fall. The Saints would load the bases again in the seventh, but a soft groundball to Tirzah Smith ended the game at 6-4.

Tamburro finished with two hits in two at bats for Clarkson, while Aisha O'Connor, Nicole Matthews and Leslie Stratton each had a pair of hits for St. Lawrence. Katie Pelton (Auburn, NH) picked up the win going 5.1 innings and Bridge came on to pitch the final five outs to earn her first save.

The second game did not have anywhere near the offense as the first as the two teams combined for just four hits. Kyle Plimpton started for the Saints and struck out six of the first eight hitters she faced before finishing with 10 strikeouts overall, but Tirzah Smith and Jamie Bridge were nearly as dominant, missing bats more in the later innings and closing the game with nine whiffs in seven innings. St. Lawrence threatened in the third with a leadoff walk to Cailyn Welsh, who then stole second and moved to third on a strikeout that required a throw down to first base to complete the out. An easy bouncer back to the mound ended the inning and kept the game scoreless.

It wasn't until the sixth inning that the lone run would come around for the Golden Knights. After two pop outs, Lou Terwilliger hit an 0-1 pitch to straight-away center for a two-out double to start the rally, but Katie Pelton grounded one back to the pitcher that looked like it would end the inning. However. Plimpton's throw was a little low and the first baseman couldn't handle it as the ball bounded away up the first base line, allowing Terwilliger to come around with the score. In the top of the seventh, Rebecca Allen reached on an error and moved to third on a two-out single to right by Welsh, but Bridge struck out St. Lawrence pinch-hitter Kelly Burke on three pitches to end the game.

Smith didn't allow a hit through her three innings of work and struck out three hitters while allowing a single walk and a hit by pitch, and Bridge finished the game and earned the win by giving up two hits and whiffing six in four innings. Plimpton was the hard-luck loser, striking out 10 in six innings and giving up just two hits and one walk.