Troy, NY – The Sage Colleges' softball team hosted the Panthers of SUNY-Old Westbury on Friday afternoon in a pair of Skyline Conference games. Sage took the first game 8-1 and picked up a close 6-5 win in the nightcap. Sage is now 19-10 overall and 8-3 in the Skyline Conference. SUNY-Old Westbury drops to 9-16 overall and 2-12 in the league.
For the Gators, Sage's senior Hillary Faas (East Greenbush, NY/Columbia) was 3-4 at the plate in the first game and drove in two runs. Sophomore pitcher Katie Kovage (Hoosick Falls, NY/Hoosick Falls Central) had another strong showing both at the plate and in the circle. She was 1-3 with two RBI's and picked up the win after fanning four batters. She stands at 10-6 on the year with a 3.8 ERA and 64 K's.
Additionally, junior Kristen Beikirch (Brockport, NY/Brockport) was 1-3 with three runs scored and two stolen bases. She added two stolen bases in the first game, while rookie Jess Adams (Nassau, NY/Columbia) added a double and an RBI as Sage collected 12 hits in the action.
Freshman pitcher Nicole DeCola (New Hyde Park, NY/New Hyde Park Memorial) worked the complete game and yielded six earned runs off 12 hits with two walks and two strikeouts. She drops to 6-10 on the year.
Senior Jennifer Jean (Levittown, NY/Division Avenue) drove in the Panthers' lone run in the top of the fifth inning to break up Sage's shutout bid.
In the nightcap, Faas and Beikirch each homered to help the Gators, while Beikirch added her third stolen base of the day and in the process broke Sage's career stolen base record of 49, previously held by Melissa Roy. Beikirch now has a perfect 17-17 on the season, while elevating her career resume to include 50 stolen bases.
Beikirch added a 3-4 effort with an RBI and a run scored, giving her also now 124 career runs scored, another active Sage career record. Faas, who also holds Sage's career RBI and home run records and now has 20 homers and 127 RBIs. Adams added two RBI's and was 2-3 at the plate with a doubles as well as Sage collected 11 hits.
Rookie pitcher Erika Daigle (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) was the winning pitcher after she worked the complete game and fanned nine batters. She improves to 8-4 on the year, while leading the team with her 116 strikeouts. She is closing in on the Sage single-season strikeout mark as she is just four shy of surpassing the mark set in 2012 by Kelsey Newberg (119).
For the Panthers, DeCola worked another full game and took the loss after strikeouts out 3 batters and allowing five earned runs. She drops to 6-11.
Sage is back in action on Saturday, April 19 facing NYU-Poly in a pair of Skyline Conference games that will take place on the campus of Wagner College with a 1 p.m. start.