FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart University softball team swept former conference foe FDU on Thursday afternoon at Pioneer Park, claiming 8-1 and 7-0 victories to extend its win streak to three games.
Team Records
Sacred Heart (9-10)
FDU (9-13)
Game 1: SHU 8, FDU 1
Pitchers:
Carah Sweet (SHU) - (W, 4.0 innings pitched, 1 earned run, 1 strikeout, 2-1 record)
Genevieve Gleason (SHU) - (3.0 innings pitched, 0 earned runs, 1 save)
Brooklyn Shroyer (FDU) - (L, 4.0 innings pitched, 2 earned runs, 5 strikeouts, 4-4 record)
Julia Swan (FDU) – (2.0 innings pitched, 0 earned runs, 3 strikeouts)
Top Performers:
Elle Leckrone – 1-3, 2 RBIs, 1 run
Carly Koltko – 1-2, 1 run, 1 RBI
Morgan Teodosio – 1-3, 1 run, 1 RBI
Of Note:
After the Knights opened the scoring in the first inning, SHU's offense caught fire in the bottom of the second. The Pioneers hung a touchdown on FDU to take a commanding 7-1 lead. With two on and one out,
Morgan Teodosio plated SHU's opening run with an RBI single down the left field line. Another single by
Kayla Roe followed before an error by the opposing pitcher made it 2-1 Pioneers.
A wild pitch plated the third run before
Elle Leckrone sent a two-run single to right to make it 5-1. The final two runs were scored on another FDU error as SHU led 7-1 after two.
Following the second inning, both pitchers settled in, and the two teams combined for one more run. Sacred Heart scored again in the fourth to ice an 8-1 game-one victory. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases with no outs before a Koltko sacrifice fly brought in the last run.
Carah Sweet and
Genevieve Gleason commanded pitching duties for SHU, with Sweet starting and Gleason entering as a reliever. Sweet earned her second collegiate win by going 4.0 innings and allowing just the first-inning run. Gleason collected her first collegiate save by allowing zero runs over 3.0 frames.
Game 2: SHU 7, FDU 0
Pitchers:
Sam Kowalski (SHU) - (W, 6.0 innings pitched, 0 earned runs, 1 hit, 5 strikeouts, 4-5 record)
Emily Heath (SHU) - (1.0 innings pitched, 0 earned runs)
Jamie Sencion (FDU) - (L, 2.0 innings pitched, 1 earned run, 2 strikeouts, 0-2 record)
MaryJane Limon (FDU) - (2.0 innings pitched, 0 earned runs, 1 strikeout)
Madison Dollard (FDU) - (2.0 innings pitched, 2 earned runs, 3 strikeouts)
Top Performers:
Jess Brown – 2-3, 2 runs
Charlene Davis – 2-3, 1 run, 1 RBI
Sam Kowalski – 2-4, 2 RBIs, 1 double
Of Note:
Sacred Heart's bats didn't skip a beat at the start of game two, putting four on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first. A walk and two singles brought in the third run as a fielding error by the left fielder allowed
Savannah Moore to score from second base.
Two quick outs followed, one being a sac fly, before Koltko made it a 4-0 game with a two-run shot to left field. The homer is the senior's first this season and the 13th in her career.
The Pioneers added an insurance run in the bottom of the third, taking advantage of back-to-back Knights' errors to build a 5-0 lead.
Sacred Heart's advantage grew to 7-0 in the home half of the sixth on a two-RBI double from
Sam Kowalski. SHU's starting pitcher, Kowalski stepped to the plate and smacked a line drive to left center to bring
Morgan Fitzgerald and
Jess Brown home.
In the circle, Kowalski was nearly unhittable, giving up her first hit of the contest in the top of the sixth. She moved to 4-5 on the season by going 6.0 innings and allowing just one hit, while striking out five.
Emily Heath came in during the seventh and got the game's final three outs.
Up Next
Sacred Heart hits the road on Saturday, Mar. 22, for its Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) opener against Rider in Lawrenceville, N.J., at 12 and 2 p.m.
