SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts The American International College softball team played a pair of nonconference games against Caldwell University on Thursday, April 11. The Yellow Jackets dropped the first game 9-1, and lost a heartbreaking game in extra innings, 4-3.
FAST FACTS:
Game 1:
Final Score: Caldwell 9, AIC 1
Win: Sara Bearden(10-5), Loss:
Olivia Gonzalez (2-7)
Game 2:
Final Score: Caldwell 4, AIC 3
Win: Mariah Culver (9-9), Loss:
Ariana DiCioccio (3-6)
Location: Judy Groff Field Springfield, Massachusetts
Records:AIC moves to 8-21 overall, while Caldwell moves to 21-15 overall.
STATS LEADERS:
Game 1:
AIC:
Brianna Rivera: 1-for-1
Olivia Ortega: 1-for-1, one RBI
Olivia Gonzalez: 3.0 innings pitched, six earned runs, two strikeouts
Caldwell:
Paige Sandoval: 2-for-2, four RBI, one run, one home run
Christina Misiur: 3-for-3, two RBI, two runs
Carly Testa: 1-for-3, two RBI, one run
Sara Beardon: 5.0 innings pitched, three strikeouts, one earned run
Game 2:
AIC:
Sarah Baganz: 1-for-4, one RBI, one run, one triple
Jalia Santos: 1-for-2, one RBI, one triple
Brianna Rivera: 1-for-3, one run
Ariana DiCioccio: 8.0 innings pitched, two earned runs, two strikeouts
Caldwell:
Kaileen Cain: 3-for-4, two RBI, one run, one home run
Maya Rodriguez: 0-for-1, one RBI
Daniela Solis: 1-for-3, one RBI
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Game 1:
- Caldwell came out hot in the top of the first inning. With a runner on second, a single to right drove in the Cougars first run of the game. A couple of hitters later, Paige Sandoval went deep to left field; her three-run home run made it 4-0.
- The visitors continued to score in the third inning, where they added a pair of runs on a home run to left center to make it 6-0 before adding two more runs in the fourth in the same fashion.
- AIC tried to claw back into the game. It started when senior Lydia DePina walked with one out. Sophomore Brianna Rivera knocked the first Yellow Jacket hit of the day to give AIC runners on first and second. Sophomore Olivia Ortega singled to center and allowed DePina to score. The push was not enough as the home team fell 9-1 in five innings.
Game 2:
- The Yellow Jackets and Cougars had a pitching battle, as neither team picked up so much as a hit until the fourth inning.
- In the fifth, sophomore Brianna Rivera pushed a single through the right side of the infield with two outs. Her classmate, Jalia Santos, hit a grounder through the right side that snuck between not only the first and second basemen but also the center and right fielders, driving Rivera in and allowing Santos to take third with a 1-0 lead.
- In the sixth, the Chargers worked a two-out rally of their own, following a walk with a home run to left to take a 2-1 edge. That lead lasted only into the home half of the frame, as junior pitcher Ariana DiCioccio singled to lead off the inning. Two batters later, senior Sarah Baganz ripped a ball into the gap in right, driving in DiCioccio and scoring herself as the right fielder's throw ended up in the Caldwell dugout.
- In the seventh, Caldwell took advantage of a two-base error in left and a single to tie the game, and then in the eighth drove in a run on a sacrifice fly to take a 4-3 lead. AIC led off the home half of the inning with a single, but a 1-3 double play blunted the rally and the Yellow Jackets came up short as a result.
UP NEXT:
- The Yellow Jackets return to Northeast-10 Conference Southwest Division action with a four-game set at the University of New Haven beginning on Saturday, April 13 at noon.
STAY CONNECTED:
- For more updates about the AIC softball team, follow@AICSoftballonTwitterandInstagram, and likeAmerican International College SoftballonFacebook. For updates on all AIC Yellow Jackets teams, follow@AICAthleticsonTwitterandInstagram, and likeAIC Yellow JacketsonFacebook.
