Troy, NY – The Sage Colleges' softball team hosted the Thoroughbreds of Skidmore College on Tuesday afternoon in a pair of non-conference games. The host Gators posted a sweep taking game one 8-4 and the night cap, 4-3 in six innings. Sage stands at 9-7 overall, while Skidmore drops to 2-8 overall.
In the first game, Sage's rookie outfielder Frankie Pearson (Hoosick Falls, NY/Hoosick Falls Central) connected for two triples, while rookie Jessica Adams (Nassau, NY/Columbia) added a triple as well to pace the Gators' offense that included 12 hits. Sage's sophomore pitcher Katie Kovage (Hoosick Falls, NY/Hoosick Falls Central) drove in two runs and was 3-4 at the plate. In the circle, Kovage earned the win after six innings of work with one earned run off three hits with three strikeouts and stands at 5-5 on the season.
Skidmore's freshman Lauren Gorstein (Yorktown Heights, NY/Yorktown) added a double and drove in two runs to the Thoroughbreds, while rookie pitcher Lauren Fortunato (Drexel Hill, PA/The Agnes Irwin School) had an RBI and a stolen base after going 1-3 at the plate. She suffered the loss, dropping to 1-2 on the year after seven earned runs off 10 hits with one walk and one strikeout.
In the second game, Skidmore struck first with a run in the top of the first inning as Gorstein walked and scored on a RBI single by freshman Brittany Osborn (Darien, CT/Darien). Sage answered right back with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first as junior Meghan Roullier (Wynantskill, NY/Columbia) connected her first home run as a Gator. Sage's senior short stop Hillary Faas (East Greenbush, NY/Columbia) reached on an error and was driven in by Adams.
Faas now has 104 career RBI's just one shy of tying Sage's career RBI mark held by Melissa Roy (105).
Sage tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the third inning as junior Kristen Beikirch (Brockport, NY/Brockport) led off with a single down the right field line. She stole second and moved to third on a passed ball before an RBI single by Faas drove her in. Adams added the other RBI of the inning and finished the afternoon with a 2-3 effort at the plate with a stolen base. Beikirch was 2-3 and now has 10 stolen bases on the season, elevating her career total to 42, just seven shy of the Sage career mark held by Melissa Roy (49).
Skidmore's sophomore pitcher Cassie Fishkin (New City, NY/Clarkstown South) connected on a two run homerun in the top of the fourth to pull Skidmore within one run, 4-3. The Thoroughbreds were unable to score any further runs and left six on base in the action.
Sage's freshman pitcher Erika Daigle (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa), the Skyline Conference Pitcher of the Week, earned the win to improve to 4-2 after she scattered three hits and struck out nine batters. She already has 62 strikeouts on the season and ranks No. 7 in single-season strikeouts.
Skidmore's Fishkin took the loss after five innings of work with two walks and two strikeouts and allowed three earned runs off six hits.
The Gators are back in action on Wednesday, April 2 hosting SUNY-Cobleskill in a non-conference doubleheader at Robison Field at 4 p.m.