KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Saint Joseph's College (5-5) capped the 2023 spring trip with a losses to #21 Rochester (N.Y.) (7-5) and College of Saint Benedict (7-1) in THE Spring Games softball action at the Fortune Road Athletic Complex on Friday afternoon.
ROCHESTER (N.Y.) 6, SAINT JOSEPH'S 3:
The Yellowjackets notched two hits and took advantage of an SJC error to score two unearned runs in the top of the second and made it a 3-0 game on a Hunter Gilbreath (Aurora, Colo.) sac fly in the third.
Both teams sent three runs home in the fourth inning, when Jenna Gorecki (Pittsburgh, Pa.) tripled home a pair for Rochester and freshman shortstop Charlotte Cloutier (Lewiston, Maine) registered a two-run double for St. Joe's to account for the 6-3 final.
IN THE CIRCLE:
SJC junior Emily Eagleston (Reading, Mass.) falls to 1-1 on the young season after allowing six runs (three earned) on eight hits and two walks with a pair of K's over five innings. Senior Meredith Pence (Remington, Va.) tossed two scoreless innings of relief.
Rochester starter Lauren Keys (Leesburg, Va.) picked up the win after fanning six through 4.1 three-hit innings. Christin Napierowski (Salem, Mass.) gave up three runs on one hit and three walks in 0.2 inning of work and Emily Sharlach (West Windsor, N.J.) earned the save after fanning three in two innings of shutdown relief.
AT THE BAT:
- Cloutier was 1-2 with a double and two RBI
- Gorecki and Savannah Nowak (Wyckoff, N.J.) notched three hits apiece for the Yellowjackets
COLLEGE OF SAINT BENEDICT 5, SAINT JOSEPH'S 0:
The Monks were unable to generate any offense against CSB senior starter Elly Novak (Montgomery, Minn.) as the 2021 All-American hurler scattered three singles with 13 strikeouts in a complete-game shutout performance. One of the top pitchers in the Midwest Region, Novak is 39-7 with a 1.51 ERA and 353 strikeouts in 297.2 innings for her career.
Saint Benedict scored four runs off three hits in the bottom of the second when Tiffany Thompson (New York Mills, Minn.) notched an RBI double and later scored with two of her teammates on a bases-loaded triple off the bat of Jordyn Swarboda (Willmar, Minn.). The Bennies capped the scoring in the fifth when Swarboda singled and later scored on a Cat Smetana (Lake Elmo, Minn.) base hit.
Swarboda was the lone repeat-hitter for either team and was 2-3 with a run, a triple, and three RBI.
SJC senior starting pitcher Sydney Hatch (Newburgh, Maine) suffered the loss after allowing five runs on six hits and a pair of walks in five innings. Sophomore Paige Connery (Tyngsboro, Mass.) capped the outing with a scoreless inning of relief.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's is scheduled to host Thomas College in a non-conference doubleheader on Sunday, March 26th. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 PM.
