Sports

Going down swinging

Softball moves to 3-3 in conference play

At the start of the weekend, it looked like the Saint Joseph’s University softball team would have a winning streak against the Fordham University Rams in the Bronx, Ny. St. Joe’s took down Fordham 2-0 in extra innings on April 1, but April 2 proved to be the Rams’ day as the Hawks fell in both games, 7-0 and 4-3.

Seven innings went by without a score from either team in the first game of the series. In the eighth inning, sophomore Taryn Grober put a runner in scoring position, and freshman Molly Kapala delivered a two-run homer to put the Hawks up 2-0.

That proved to be all the Hawks would need to get the win, as their defense would hold off the Rams to win 2-0 in eight innings. Sophomore Ashley Ventura was credited with the Hawks’ win.

The next day brought a doubleheader for the Hawks as they looked to improve their Atlantic 10 conference record.

St. Joe’s fell to Fordham 7-0 in their first game of the day, getting off only three hits in seven innings.

Junior Madison Clarke was given the loss for the game.

The Hawks fared better in their second game of the day. They took an early lead in the first inning when freshman Sarah Ostaszewski singled and sent sophomore Amanda Kulp home, putting them up 1-0.

Freshman Caela Abadie doubled in the top of the fourth. Pinch runner and junior Lauren Reilly took her place and was batted in by Clarke, increasing the lead to 2-0.

It wasn’t until the bottom of the sixth inning that Fordham struck back and tied up the game at 2-2 off of a throwing error and an RBI. The game would go into extra innings as neither team scored in the seventh.

Extra innings remained scoreless until the top of the tenth when Abadie scored a home run to go up 3-2. Fordham retaliated quickly when Rams’ Jessica Hughes homered with Morgan Figueroa on base, earning them a 4-3 win over the Hawks.

“We played well, but we still have things to get better at before conference play,” said Head Coach Terri Adams.

After the three game series, the Hawks are 9-18 overall and 3-3 in A-10 play, putting them at sixth place in the conference.

St. Joe’s softball returns to action on April 5 when they travel to Lehigh University for a doubleheader against the Mountain Hawks (13-15).

About the author

Alex Hargrave

Alex Hargrave is the Special Projects Editor of The Hawk Newspaper. She is a senior English and communications major. Read more of her work here.