SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts - In an ending pulled from a movie script, American International College softball co-captain and graduate student Victoria Andrade had a walk-off hit, plating senior co-captain Alexis Jimenez to activate the run rule as AIC split with The College of Saint Rose, 0-6 and 8-0, on the team's Senior Day during a Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader with the Golden Knights on Sunday, April 16.
AIC is now 5-31 with a 2-14 NE10 record.
Saint Rose jumped to an early 2-0 lead in the opening game with three hits in the first inning. That lead held all game long; AIC had at least one runner in every inning, but could not bring any of them home, while Saint Rose addedd one in the third, two in the fifth, and one in the sixth for the 6-0 win.
The Yellow Jackets turned the tables in the second game. Abigail Wells reached on a dropped throw at first base and was sacrificed over. Mackenzie Berman then singled, stealing second to add to the pressure. Andrade came to the dish and floated a ball to right just out of the reach of a dive; Wells scored, but Berman held at third. It did not matter, as Brianna Harzula lined a single back up the middle to bring in both runners and give AIC a 3-0 lead.
Riley Sullivan, who worked around a leadoff double in the first, was able to stymie the Golden Knights offense almost completely thereafter; she allowed just one hit the rest of the way, a two-out second inning double. Behind her, the defense, particularly the left side of the infield that featured Leah Twyman at third and Destiny McGrath at shortstop, made play after play to smother the visiting team's bats.
In the fifth, the Yellow Jackets put the game away. Harzula singled and Twyman walked. A sacrifice bunt moved both over, and McGrath hit a grounder to second that the Golden Knights went home with, but Harzula beat the throw. Sullivan then walked to load the bases. Two batters later, so did Jimenez, forcing home Twyman. Berman followed with a two-run single, putting the run-rule run in scoring position for Andrade. With a chance to end things, she made no mistake.
AIC returns to action and continues its 10-game homestand on Thursday, April 20 at 3:00 p.m. with a two-game set against Post University.
