ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Apr. 30, 2017) – The Molloy softball team concluded the regular season with a sweep of Saint Thomas Aquinas College. The maroon and white recorded 10 hits on the way to a 9-1 victory in the first game before taking a 4-2 decision in the second game.
Seniors
Erin Clinton (Long Beach, Calif.),
Ashley Fedor (Monroe, Conn.) and
Chelsea Hawks (Wading River ,N.Y.) were honored for their contributions to the Molloy softball program in a pre-game ceremony.
Game One: Molloy 9, St. Thomas Aquinas College 1 (Five Innings)
The maroon and white got off to a quick start, going up 4-0 after the first inning. Clinton recorded the first hit of the day with a double to left field. Graduate student
Milan Botte (San Diego, Calif.) singed to move her to third before junior
Sarah Rambo (Eagleville, Pa.) drove her in with a ground-rule double. Following a walk to junior
Brianna Dalton (Northampton, Pa.), junior
Tiana DeOliveira (Mastic, N.Y.) singled to center field to double the lead. A single by Fedor put the Lions up 4-0.
The offense continued to surge in the second inning, as Botte doubled to score junior
Olivia Banulski (Bristol, Conn.). Dalton reached on an error by the Spartans' third baseman to score Botte and give the Lions a 6-0 lead.
Fedor led off the third inning with a double to center field, advancing to third following a single from junior
Alexandra Russo (Coram, N.Y.). In the next at bat, junior
Bernadette Mullane (Bellmore, N.Y.) reached on an error to score Fedor. Banulski singled to load the bases, and Clinton drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 8-0. Botte hit a sacrifice fly to left field to make it 9-0 Molloy.
The Spartans got on the board in the top of the fifth inning, as Alyssa Chelak (Poughquag, N.Y.) doubled to left, but STAC would fall via the run rule at the end of the inning.
Botte led the offense, going 2-for-2 with two RBIs. Banulski, Fedor, and Botte each recorded two hits. Hawks pitched five innings, allowing one run on three hits while fanning five strikeouts.
Game Two: Molloy 4, St. Thomas Aquinas 2
In the second contest, the Spartans went ahead 1-0 after two innings on a solo home run from Caitlyn Francoeur (East Bridgewater, Mass.). The Lions responded in the third as Rambo sent the ball over the left field fence to put the Lions ahead 3-1.
In the top of the sixth inning, Ashley Landolina (Tolland, Conn.) hit a home run of her own to bring STAC within one run.
Freshman pinch hitter
Mikaela Tribby (Boca Raton, Fla.) reached on a fielder's choice in the sixth, allowing Rambo to score on the play to give Molloy a 4-2 lead.
Valeria Winalski (East Granby, Conn.) singled to start the top of the seventh, but Russo caught a fly fall in foul territory, throwing Winalski out at second on the play. Down to their last out, sophomore pitcher
Jenna Turato (Garden City South, N.Y.) forced a ground out to end the game.
Turato allowed one run on four hits through four innings in the victory, while Rambo went 3-for-3 with 3 RBIs and a home run.
The Lions finish the 2017 regular season at 32-14 and 18-6 in East Coast Conference play, tied with Mercy College as Co-Regular Season Champions. Molloy has clinched the two-seed in the East Coast Conference playoffs and will face third-seeded New York Institute at Mercy College on Thursday (May 4). Stay tuned to
www.molloylions.com for more information regarding the 2017 postseason for your Molloy Lions softball team.
