SPRINGFIELD , Mass. The American International College softball team spilt with the College of Saint Rose Tuesday afternoon in Northeast-10 Conference Southwest Division action at Judy Groff Field. The Yellow Jackets took game one, the final divisional game of the series, 5-2, before falling in the series finale, 6-5.
With the split AIC moves to 16-19 overall and 11-14 in Northeast-10 play. The Jackets are 6-9 in the division.
Tied at one in the bottom of the fourth, AIC freshman starter Sarah Beliveau (Bristol, Conn.) helped her own cause, blasting her first career homerun over the left center wall for the go-ahead run to give her Jacket back the lead, 2-1.
American International added insurance in the fifth. Senior Jorrdin Miller (Garfield, N.J.) singled down the right field line, plating freshman Kayla Riley (Haverhill, Mass.). In the next at bat, rookie Kaley Kempf (Oxford, Conn.) knocked her fourth homer of the season, a two-run shot that brought Miller home to make it 5-1 Jackets.
The Golden Knights added a run in the sixth, but it was too little, too late, as AIC held on for the win 5-2 victory. Beliveau went five innings, picking up her fourth win of the year (4-4). The rookie allowed one earned off two hits while striking out five. AIC junior Jillian Bedard (Meriden, Conn.) threw the final two innings, allowing an earned run off two hits and striking out a single Knight. The save was the first of the season for Bedard.
The Jackets posted seven hits in the game led by multi-hit performances from sophomore's Alexa DiLeo (Cheshire, Conn.) and Jamie Mainez (Redlands, Calif.), who both went 2-3 from the dish. Riley scored twice, while Kempf knocked in a pair.
St. Rose opened game two with a homer in the first plate appearance off the bat of leadoff hitter Carly Wood to take a quick 1-0 lead. The Yellow Jackets quickly responded in the bottom half of the inning with a Kempf single up the middle to plate Riley from third.
AIC jumped ahead in the third, capitalizing off a fielding error by the center fielder. Once again, Kempf provided the offense, singling to center to get the wheels in motion and allow senior Jenna Costa (Turners Falls, Mass.) an opportunity to scamper home. Miller knocked in Kempf for the second run of the inning and take a 3-1 lead.
The Golden Knights used back-to-back singles in the fourth to plate Alina Germinerio and Beth Jones and knot the game at three-all. In the home half of the fourth, Kempf plated the go-ahead run with two outs, singling up the middle, once more, to score classmate Ashley Hughes (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.).
Everything appeared to be going AIC's way with multiple go-ahead runs, but St. Rose used a pair of errors in the fifth to plate three runners and take a two-run lead and held on for the win.
AIC had the winning run at the plate in the bottom of the seventh with Mainez and Hughes on first and second, but Riley grounded out to end the game.
Kempf went 3-4 for the game and 5-7 for the day, adding three RBI's in game two. Camargo went 2-3, while Hughes and senior Ainslee Penfield (Greenfield, Mass.) went 2-4 from the plate in the losing effort.
Camargo threw five innings, striking out five, but allowed five earned off 10 hits. She fell to 8-9 on the season. Bedard tossed two innings of relief, allowing just a single hit.
The Yellow Jackets return to action Friday, April 22 at Pace University for a divisional clash. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m. from Pleasantville, N.Y.
