Long ball carries Softball to sweep of Sage

Courtesy of Sage Sports Information

Troy, NY— Sage's softball team hosted Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts on Wednesday in a non-conference doubleheader at Robison Field. MCLA took a pair from the Gators, winning the first game, 8-6 and the night cap 3-1. MCLA improves to 12-20, while Sage's season wraps with a record of 11-25.  Kaylyn Holliday belted the go ahead grand slam in the opener to provide the difference while Kaitlyn Berghela's three run bomb in the nightcap was the key blow.

Game #1  MCLA 8-6 Sage

Sage jumped out to a 2-0 lead as graduate player, left fielder Lisa Kentris (Latham, NY/Shaker) drove in a pair of runs in the bottom of the second. MCLA tied the action in the top of the fourth as sophomore Alanza Quinones (North Adams, MA/McCann Tech) added an RBI sacrifice fly to drive in Nevada Nelson (Colonie, NY/Colonie Central) who reached on a single to right and advanced to second on a throw and to third on a passed ball. RookieCassandra Crosier (Florida, MA/Drury) reached in on an error and Nicole Main (Bennington, VT/Mount Anthony Union) who also reached on a Gator error.   

Sage took a 6-2 lead in the fourth as senior Kiersten Duncan (Millerton, NY/Taconic Hills)belted her team and Empire 8 leading 15^th double of the season as well as RBI's from juniorAmanda Kiriakos (Yonkers, NY/Saunders Trade & Technical), sophomore Emily Agate (Franklin Square, NY/H. Frank Carey), and senior Lindsey Decker (Ballston Lake, NY/Shenendehowa).

MCLA had a big inning in the sixth as junior Kaylyn Holliday (Catskill, NY/Catskill) had a grand slam to aid the Trailblazers as they took a 7-6 lead and also got a RBI from Kayla Baker (Shrewsbury, MA/Assabet Valley) in the seventh to take the 8-6 game over Sage.

Kentris, Kiriakos, and Decker were all 2-4 at the plate while Kentris drove in two runs for the Gators.

Sophomore Samantha Feinstein (Yarmouth, MA/Dennis Yarmouth Regional) collected the complete game win as she fanned four and improves to 7-8. Sage's junior Alicia Swavely (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) worked 5.2 innings and allowed one earned run off seven hits with three strikeouts and drops to 5-4 on the year. Rookie Taylor Dicranian (Bennington, VT/Mount Anthony Union) worked 1.1 innings in relief with one run off one hit with one strikeout. 

Game #2 MCLA 3-1 Sage  

After playing to a scoreless tie through four innings, MCLA's  senior Kaitlyn Berghela (Watervliet, NY/Shaker) belted a three-run home run to spot the Trailblazers to a 3-0 lead.

Sage added a run in the bottom of fifth as Kentris led off with a single to right. Duncan singled to center before Kiriakos singled to center field to drive in Kentris. Sage was unable to push any more runs across the plate in the bottom of the inning and trailed 3-1 through five innings, a score that would hold up as the final score.

Sage's sophomore pitcher Katerina Lagace (Newington, CT/Newington) took the loss for Sage after allowing 10 hits with three earned runs and striking out five. She closes the year with a 5-12 record having struck out 46 batters in 85.1 innings of work.

MCLA pitcher Morgan Watson (Portland, OR/Jesuit) picked up the complete game win after scattering eight hits with one run and struck out four as she improves to 3-2 on the year.

Sage wrapped the 2019 season Wednesday, while MCLA is back in action on April 27 hosting Salem State in the 1 p.m. conference twinbill.