Newburgh, NY–The Sage Colleges' softball team continued to compete in the 2015 Skyline Conference tournament on Saturday on the campus of Mt. St. Mary College. Sage posted an 11-4 win over the College of Mt. St. Vincent to keep alive, while the Dolphins were eliminated from the tournament.
Sage then faced the top seeded Knights of Mt. St. Mary College in a second elimination game, dropping the contest, 3-1 and ending the team's hopes of a Skyline Championship and an NCAA bid. Sage is now 18-15 on the season.
Against CMSV, Sage jumped out to a 2-0 lead as senior catcher Kristen Beikirch (Brockport, NY/Brockport) led off with a triple to right center field and scored on a throwing error. Rookie Alexa Silk (Freehold, NY/Greenville) went deep with a solo shot to left collecting her team-leading sixth home run of the season. Her six home runs this year ranks No. 2 all-time in single-season performances.
Beikirch added an RBI on a sacrifice fly in the second inning, while junior Morgan Dunn (Cohoes, NY/Cohoes) went deep with a two-run shot in the inning as the Gators jumped out to a 6-0 lead after just two innings.
By game's end, Sage had racked up 14 hits. Dunn was 4-4 with two runs scored, five RBI's, a double and a home run. Beikirch was 2-3 with three runs scored with an RBI with triple and a stolen base. Silk was 3-3 with two RBI's, a pair of doubles and a home run.
Sophomore pitcher Lindsay Brace (Moriah, NY/Moriah Central) picked up the win as she worked four innings with four earned runs off five hits with three walks and three strikeouts. She stands at 8-7 on the season and was relieved by rookie Rachael Lashway (Queensbury, NY/Glens Falls), who worked one scoreless inning before junior pitcher Katie Kovage (Hoosick Falls, NY/Hoosick Falls Central) threw two scoreless innings with three hits and one walk in the action.
In the second game of the day for Sage, the Gators took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first after Silk reached on a triple for the left field line and scored on a sacrifice fly by Dunn.
MSMC tied the action in the top of the second inning after a fielding error allowed Michelle Surdan to reach. She would score on an RBI single by Chelsea Dexter to center field tying the score at 1-1.
The score held up until the top of the fifth inning when Taylor Canto lead off with a single up the middle and scored on an RBI single by Courtney Barbara, breaking the 1-1 deadlock.
In the top of the sixth, Stephanie Karcher had a solo home run to lead push the Knights up 3-1, a score that would hold up to send the team to the championship round.
MSMC's Cindy Connoly threw a complete game in collecting the win as she improves to 10-5. She held the Gators to just two hits, while striking out six Sage batters.
Kovage took the loss as she worked five innings and allowed two earned runs off eight hits with one strikeouts. Brace worked the last two innings and struck out four with just two hits in her appearance.
Sage is back in action on April 28 hosting the Fighting Tigers of SUNY-Cobleskill in a 3:30 p.m. non-conference doubleheader at Robison Field.
2015 Skyline Softball Championship
Friday, Apr. 24
Game 1 - No. 1 Mount Saint Mary def. No. 4 Sage, 3-2
Game 2 - No. 2 Farmingdale State def. No. 3 Mount Saint Vincent, 8-0 (5 inning)
Saturday, Apr. 25
Game 3 – FSC def. MSMC, 3-2
Game 4 – Sage def. CMSV, 11-4 (CMSV eliminated)
Game 5 – MSMC def. Sage, 3-1 (Sage eliminated)
Sunday, Apr. 26
Game 6 – FSC vs. MSMC, 11 a.m.
Game 7 - If necessary, 1:30 p.m.