Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 UNIONDALE, N.Y. (Apr. 25, 2015) - The Molloy College softball team closed out its regular season with a split of a doubleheader with LIU Post this afternoon, winning the first game, 7-2, before falling in the second game, 6-5. With the split, the Lions are now 23-25 overall (18-10 East Coast Conference), while the Pioneers are 28-11-1 (22-4 ECC). Following today's action, the Lions locked up the third seed in this year's ECC Championship Tournament, set to begin next Thursday (April 30).
Game 1: Molloy 7, LIU Post 2In the third inning, the Lions opened the scoring with an RBI double from freshman
Olivia Banulski (Bristol, Conn.), which scored rookie teammate
Alexandra Russo (Coram, N.Y.). In the sixth, the Pioneers tied the game at 1-all when Kayla McCoy reached on a fielding error, bringing home a run. The Lions, however, retook the lead at 2-1 after freshman
Taylor Curran (Seaford, N.Y.) singled to right field scoring fellow rookie
Nina Gaita (Eastport, N.Y.). Molloy added to its lead after sophomore
Ashley Fedor (Monroe, Conn.) reached on a fielding error, plating sophomore
Erin Clinton (Long Beach, Calif). The Lions went on to take a commanding 7-1 lead after a three-run homer was launched off the bat of junior
Tracey Balinskas (Edison N.J.).
The Pionners scored a run in the seventh on a bases-loaded walk to make it 7-2, which was the final tally.
In the circle, sophomore
Chelsea Hawks (Wading River, N.Y.) went all seven innings, giving up just two runs (one earned) on two hits. She struck out five and improved to 11-10 on the year.
Game 2: LIU Post 6, Molloy 5 (12 innings)In game two, the Pioneers jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the fifth inning. The Lions started to chip away at the lead in the sixth frame as they witnessed an RBI single from freshman
Sarah Rambo (Eagleville, Pa.), which scored both freshman
Brianna Dalton (Northampton, Pa.) and senior
Victoria Gunnels (North Bellmore, N.Y.). One inning later, Molloy grabbed back another run via an RBI groundout by Gunnels. That made it 5-3. The Lions knotted the score at 5-5 following an RBI single from senior
Brianne Catalano (Franklin Square, N.Y.), which scored Balinskas and Fedor. The game headed to extra innings and continued on through the 12th frame. A bases-loaded walk ended the game and gave the Pioneers the 6-5 triumph.
In the circle, Hawks went the first four innings, giving up five hits and four runs. Balinskas hurled the next seven innings and took the loss (11-10) .
Head Coach
Susan Cassidy-Lyke and the Lions will get their postseason underway in the ECC Championship Tournament on Thursday, April 30. The Tournament will be held at Queens College in Flushing, N.Y. The double-elimination tournament will run April 30-May 2. The Lions' first game will be against LIU Post at 1 p.m. on Thursday.
2015 East Coast Conference Softball Championship Tournament (current standings)#1 seed -- Queens College (32-14 overall / 24-4 ECC)
#2 seed -- LIU Post (28-13-1 overall / 22-6 ECC)
#3 seed -- Molloy College (23-25 overall / 18-10 ECC)
#4 seed -- New York Institute of Technology (28-20 / 17-11 ECC)
