NEWBURGH – The Mount Saint Mary College Softball team was back in action on campus Wednesday afternoon and split a non-conference twin bill with Russell Sage, topping the Gators 5-3 in game one before dropping the night cap 6-2. Bridget Morris earned the game one victory and matched her career-high with 14 strikeouts.
Wednesday split moves Mount Saint Mary to 5-9 overall on the season with Russell Sage standing at 6-6 through 12 games.
Game 1: Mount Saint Mary 5 – Russell Sage 3
No one was able to score until the fifth inning when the Knights pushed across the first run of the game.
After Sofia Gannon led off the inning with a single and made her way to third with two outs, Paige Shrimpton shot a single through the middle to move the Knights in front 1-0.
The Gators promptly scored two runs in the top of the sixth on a two-run triple off the bat of Arianna Papas.
Trailing by a run, the Mount put up four tallies in the home half of the sixth to move in front 5-2.
The Knights scored four unearned runs, taking advantage of two key Gator errors, to grab the lead for good in the game.
Russell Sage plated a run in the seventh following a leadoff triple from Katelyn Rice, but Grace MacDonald got the final two outs to record her first career save.
For The Knights
Morris worked 6.1 strong innings in moving to 3-4 on the season. She surrendered three runs on four hits while fanning 14 Gators. Morris reached double-figures in strikeouts for the second time this season and punched out 14 batters in a game for the second time in her career.
MacDonald retired the only two batters she faced, including a strikeout to end the game, to notch the save.
Olivia Ferara finished the game 2-for-4 with a run scored.
Shrimpton recorded two hits and drove in a run.Gannon posted a hit and scored two runs.
Laura Dentato and Riley Norwood each finished with a hit and run scored for the Mount.
Game 2: Russell Sage 6 – Mount Saint Mary 2
The Gators did all of their scoring in game two in the top of the fourth inning, stringing together five hits and taking advantage of an error.
Taylor Dicranian delivered two runs in the inning with a double with Emma Heartquist pushing home two more runs with a single.
Papas and Amber Banas each drove in runs in the fourth with sacrifice flies.
Mount Saint Mary cut into its deficit with its only two runs of the game in the home half of the sixth frame.
Kaeli McAnally walked to start the inning before a Dentato single put runners on first and second with no one out.
Melanie McClinchey shot a single through the left side to deliver McAnally before a groundout from Dana Donnelly pushed home the second run of the inning to close out the scoring in the game.
For The Knights
Dentato recorded a hit and a run scored in game two.
Ferara, McClinchey and Alicia Killeen each added singles in the game.
McAnally scored a run and drew a walk.
MacDonald suffered the loss in game two, allowing six runs on seven hits in 3.1 innings of work.
Donnelly worked 3.2 scoreless innings of relief, allowing one hit and striking out one.