Alyssa Pagano and the Owls opened their season with two wins against Bridgeport on Monday afternoon.
Softball Takes Two From Bridgeport In Season Opener
3/8/2010 7:46:21 PM
Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Southern Connecticut State University softball team opened its 2010 campaign with two wins against Bridgeport at Pelz Field on Monday afternoon. Sophomore Jayme Larson (Aurora, Colo.) and senior Kerry Iacomini (Pleasant Valley, N.Y.) each threw well on the mound for the victories. The Owls took game one by the final score of 8-0, and snatched game two, 8-5.
After a scoreless top half of the first inning, senior Khristle Lee (Aztec, N.M.) collected the Owls’ first hit with a triple to center field. After the next two Owls reached base, freshman Alyssa Downs (Seymour, Conn.) put Southern on the scoreboard with a sacrifice fly to center field for an early 1-0 lead.
Later on in the bottom half of the third inning, the Owls struck again with three more runs. Downs had another chance when she came to the plate with runners on first and second. She proceeded to lace a single up the middle, bringing home second run of the game. Jessica Rosa (Wallingford, Conn.) then followed with a single to load the bases for junior Robin Priest (Cheshire, Conn.). Priest ripped a single to center field, sending Downs and Iacomini around to score for a 4-0 lead.
Southern added another run in the fourth and three more in the fifth inning. Sophomore Alyssa Pagano (Monroe, Conn.) enforced the ‘Mercy Rule’ with a base-hit up the middle to score Priest, solidifying an 8-0 victory in game one.
Larson tossed five shutout innings, allowed no hits and struck out nine for her first win of the season.
After a rocky start for the Owls in game two, Southern’s offense came to life in the bottom of the second inning. Trailing 2-0, the Owls loaded the bases after a single, a walk and another single. Jessica Bonneville (Vernon, Conn.) followed with her first career RBI on a fielders’ choice that scored Iacomini. Freshman Meryl Ragaini (Seymour, Conn.) stepped into the batters box next and knocked a sacrifice fly to center field, knotting the game up at two apiece.
The two teams played a scoreless third inning, only to unleash the bats in the fourth inning. The Purple Knights tacked on three runs on one hit and two errors to regain the lead, 5-2. The big blow came on a two-run single to center field off the bat of Katie McMitchell.
However, the Owls would battle back in the bottom half of the inning. Pagano tripled and Downs drew a walk, giving the Owls first and third with just one out. Pagano alertly took home on a pass-ball, which was then followed by a walk to Bonneville. Priest pushed the next two runs across on a Purple Knight error to tie the game at 5-5. Priest, Julianne Flood (Poughquag, N.Y.) and Lee each crossed the plate shortly after that on two errors and a hit, granting the Owls an 8-5 lead.
Iacomini shut down Bridgeport in order in the top of the fifth, where the game was then called due to darkness. The Owls recorded 17 hits in the two games combined.
Southern returns to action on March 11, when its opens an eight game road trip in Clermont, Fla. First pitch is set for 1:30 p.m. against Queens College.