Newburgh, NY – The Sage Colleges' softball team travelled to Mt. St. Mary College for the regular-season finale with the Knights. The two teams split results on Sunday with MSMC taking the first game, 5-2 and Sage winning the nightcap, 10-5. The win in the second game gave the Gators the No. 3 seed in the upcoming 2013 Skyline Conference Tournament after finishing conference play with a record of 9-5.
Sage stands at 19-16 overall, while MSMC drops to 18-16 overall and 7-7 in the league to just miss the playoffs. NYU-Poly earned the No. 1 seed, while Farmingdale State garnered the No. 2 seed, followed by Sage at No.3 and a St. Joseph's (LI) at the No. 4 seed. The tournament will take place Friday, April 26-28 on the campus of Purchase College with the overall winner garnering the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Among the many highlights on the day, Sage's senior pitcher Kelsey Newberg (New Britain, CT/New Britain) added her name to the Sage career pitching record book as she collected her 28th career victory and surpassed previous victory mark of 27 held by Kim Fredenburgh.
In the first game, MSMC jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Sage pulled within a run with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth, but the Knights tacked on two more and posted a 5-2 win.
The Gators got a pair of RBIs from junior catcher Trish Gaulin (South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls) and graduate performer and outfielder, Tiffany Bezio (Whitehall, NY/Whitehall).
Taking the loss for Sage in the circle was rookie pitcher Katie Kovage (Hoosick Falls, NY/Hoosick Falls Central). She took the loss after five innings of work with four earned runs off nine hits and had a walk and a strikeout. Graduate student, Rachel Smith (Valatie, NY/Ichabod Crane) worked the final inning for the Gators and struck out two in making her 12th appearance of the season.
In the second game, Sage got three doubles from sophomore Karlie Williams (Schenectady, NY/Mohonasen), Smith and rookie Courtney Laughlin (Cohoes, NY/Cohoes), while Newberg and sophomore Kristen Beikirch (Brockport, NY/Brockport) each connected for a triple in the action.
Beikirch was 3-4 at the plate with two runs scored and an RBI, while Newberg also went 2-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. Laughlin was 1-4 with a pair of runs scored and two RBI's, while Smith was 2-4 with a pair of RBI's and a run scored.
Pitching for the Gators, Newberg racked up the complete game victory as she fanned five and allowed just one earned run off seven hits and improved to 8-7 on the year, while collecting her record-setting 28th career win. She elevated her other Sage career mark to include added a pair 257 strikeouts.
The Gators will next play on Friday, April 26 in a Skyline Tournament contest vs. No. 2 seeded Farmingdale State in a time to be determined.
