FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart University softball team held the five-time defending Northeast Conference Champions of Saint Francis scoreless in a 5-0 shutout win on Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Park. The victory completed a three-game sweep for the Pios over the Red Flash and improved SHU's NEC record to 8-7.
Team Records
Sacred Heart (16-20, 8-7 NEC)
Saint Francis (18-21, 10-5 NEC)
SHU 5, SFU 0
Pitchers:
Sam Kowalski (SHU) - (W, 7.0 innings pitched, 0 earned runs, 3 strikeouts, 7-9 record)
Marissa Frederick (SFU) - (L, 6.0 innings pitched, 4 earned runs, 3 strikeouts, 7-11 record)
Top Performers:
Amy Petrovich (SHU) – 2-2
Nicole Henke (SHU) – 2-3, 1 run, 2 RBI, 1 double
Of Note:
Both starting pitchers were cruising at the open of today's game, as the first run of the scoreboard was not scored until the bottom of the fourth. SHU's
Sam Kowalski tossed a three-up, three-down third, and left base runners stranded in the first, second, and fourth frames to preserve the shutout.
The game's opening run was Sacred Heart's, as
Cayla Nista scored by hustling from second base after a
Nicole Henke single up the middle.
SHU added to its lead in the bottom of the fifth inning to make it a 2-0 game. A walk and an error put two runners on base. The two Pios advanced on stolen bases before
Carly Koltko brought
Jenna Mowad home with a sacrifice fly to right field.
The Pioneers put a stranglehold on the contest by scoring three runs in an eventful bottom of the sixth inning. After a rain shower started in the frame, SHU got to the Red Flash's starting pitcher, Rachel Marsden.
Emily Carroll began the inning with a single before reaching home on a double from Henke. Then, an RBI groundout from Kowalski made it a 4-0 Sacred Heart lead.
After a pair of brief intermissions due to the rain, three consecutive walks and two wild pitches brought the Pios their fifth run of the game.
Kowalski held strong during the downpour, shutting down the side in order in the seventh to earn the complete-game win. The first year earned her team-leading seventh victory this afternoon, her third over her last four starts.
The Pios last swept the Red Flash in the regular season in 2019, taking a home doubleheader the last year before NEC went to three-game series.
Up Next
Sacred Heart will take a break from league play to battle intrastate foe Yale for a doubleheader on Wednesday, Apr. 19, in New Haven.
