EASTON, Mass. – The Holy Cross softball team traveled to Stonehill to play a midweek non-conference doubleheader on Mar. 26. The Crusaders split the day taking game one 8-4 and dropping game two 11-8 to the Skyhawks. All four captains hit at least one home run on the day.
GAME ONE: CRUSADERS 8, SKYHAWKS 4 (FINAL)
STARTING IN THE CIRCLE:
- Holy Cross: Sophia Roncone (W, 3-9), 8.0 innings pitched, nine hits allowed, four runs, three earned, six strikeouts.
- Stonehill: Alex Sciarretto (L, 1-6), 7.0 innings pitched, seven hits allowed, eight runs, six earned, four strikeouts.
IN RELIEF:
- Stonehill: Lauren Donovan, 1.0 innings pitched, one hit allowed.
STEPPING TO THE PLATE:
- Ali Sniegocki: 2-for-4, two home runs, two runs scored, three RBIs.
- Jena Whipple: 1-for-3, one home run, one run score, one RBI.
- Callie Thibault: 1-for-4, one home run, one run scored, one RBI.
- Piper Hofmann: 4-for-4, one home run, one double, one run scored, two RBIs.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Senior captain Jena Whipple cracked her first home run of the season to left-center field in the top of the second for the 1-0 lead.
- The Crusaders doubled their lead with junior captain Ali Sniegocki crushing a solo homer over the left field wall in the top of the third. In the bottom of the inning, the Skyhawks responded with a Piper Hofmann solo home run to center field for the 2-1 result in favor of Holy Cross.
- In the top of the seventh, senior captain Emma Fong hit a sacrifice fly RBI to score teammate Brooke Ventrelle from third base. The Skyhawks came back in the bottom of the inning to tie the game 3-3 with Hofmann hitting an RBI double to the right side and Jenny Olson with the RBI ground out.
- With a runner placed on second to kick off extra innings, Sniegocki stepped up to the plate and smashed a two-run homer to left-center field. Senior captain Callie Thibault followed suit with a solo home run to the same spot, her first of the year, for the 6-3 score. Sophomore Caroline Higgins scored on a wild pitch and sophomore Emma Pietrzak hit an RBI single to the shortstop to score teammate Jordan Goedel for the 8-3 advantage. Stonehill attempted to make up the deficit in the bottom of the eighth with Shannon Conte hitting an RBI ground out but the Crusaders prevailed for the 8-4 victory.
GAME TWO: CRUSADERS 8, SKYHAWKS 11 (FINAL)
STARTING IN THE CIRCLE:
- Holy Cross: Jordan Goedel (L, 1-8), 2.0 innings pitched, eight hits allowed, seven runs, seven earned, one strikeout.
- Stonehill: Lauren Donovan (W, 2-4), 5.2 innings pitched, nine hits allowed, six runs, six earned, three strikeouts.
IN RELIEF:
- Holy Cross: Avery Toddings, 4.0 innings pitched, two hits allowed, four runs, one earned.
- Stonehill: Alexa Hospodar (2S), 1.1 innings pitched, one hit allowed, two runs, none earned, two strikeouts.
STEPPING TO THE PLATE:
- Emma Fong: 2-for-3, two home runs, two runs scored, four RBIs.
- Brooke Ventrelle: 2-for-4, two runs scored, one RBI.
- Anna Brait: 4-for-4, two doubles, one run scored.
- Melanie Snyder: 3-for-3, one home run, one double, two runs scored, three RBIs.
- Isabella Therrien: 3-for-4, one home run, three runs scored, two RBIs.
- Piper Hofmann: 1-for-4, one home run, two runs scored, two RBIs.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Stonehill's Hofmann smacked a two-run home run and Melanie Snyder hit an RBI single through the right side to kick off the game in the bottom of the first with the 3-0 lead.
- In the bottom of the second, the Skyhawks furthered their lead with Taylor Schoomaker hitting a sacrifice fly RBI for the 4-0 score.
- Stonehill picked up three more runs, 7-0, in the bottom of the third on a Synder RBI double and two RBI ground outs.
- In the top of the fifth, Fong cranked a two-run homer, her first of the year, to get the Crusaders on the board. In the bottom of the inning, Snyder responded with a solo home run to left center field for the 8-2 result.
- Holy Cross hit back-to-back RBI singles with Pietrzak hitting one to center field to drive in Goedel and Ventrelle knocking one to center to bring in Pietrzak. Fong stepped up to the plate and blasted her second consecutive two-run home run to clear the bases for the 8-6 score. In the bottom of the inning, Olson scored on an error followed by an Isabella Therrien two-run home run to keep the Crusaders at arm's length, 11-6.
- In the top of the seventh, Holy Cross drove in two runs on a Goedel RBI ground out and junior Anna Brait scored on an error by the pitcher. Stonehill took game two 11-8 over the Crusaders.
UP NEXT:
- The Crusaders return to action on Wednesday, Apr. 2 for a midweek non-conference doubleheader with Merrimack at Warrior Diamond in North Andover, Mass.
- First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.
FOLLOW THE CRUSADERS
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