OLD WESTBURY, NY – Sage pitchers Amy Hart (St. Johnsville, NY/Little Falls) and Allison Ford (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville) combined for 13 scoreless innings in a doubleheader sweep over SUNY-Old Westbury Saturday afternoon. The Gators took game one 9-0 in six innings while taking game two 4-0.
Sage (10-10, 7-1 Skyline) was led at the plate by freshman Destiny Wierzbicki (Albany, NY/Troy) with four RBI's and two runs while going 3-4 on the day. Senior Katy Rimawi (Ballston Spa, NY/Ballston Spa) also had a multi-hit day going 2-4 with two runs and an RBI. Leading the Gators in runs was Ford with three.
Leading the Panthers at the plate was Samantha Scharff with a 2-3 effort. Also registering a hit each were Lauren Bloom, Amanda Fucci and Amelia Cariddi.
In the circle, Ford (7-4) was credited with the win with five strikeouts while Old Westbury's (3-7, 3-7 Skyline) Amanda Neenan (1-3) picked up the loss with four strikeouts and two earned runs.
Sage took an early lead in the first inning when Ford scored off a two out, Wierzbicki single through the left side.
Old Westbury's first scoring opportunity came in the bottom of the fourth when Fucci reached second on a Cariddi single to right field, but Ford struck out the following batter to get out of the inning. The Gators responded in the top of the fifth when a Ford run off a Rimawi double put Sage up 2-0. The Gators extended their lead when Wiezbicki plated Rimawi. Sage scored their fourth run of the game when Wierzbicki score on a Samantha Montague (Glenville, NY/Scotia-Glenville) double to right center to go up 4-0.
After holding the Panthers scoreless in the bottom of the fifth, Ford scored her third run in the top of the sixth off a Kiersten Duncan (Millerton, NY/Taconic Hills) RBI. Two batters later, Weizbicki fanned two runs on a single to left field to put Sage up 7-0. The next at bat, Hart singled to right field to bring Weirzbicki home. The Gators added a ninth run when Hart scored on a Brittany Brooks (North Bangor, NY/Salmon River Central) RBI.
In the bottom of the sixth and in a must-score position, Gabriella Valdes reached scoring position on second on a Scharff single. With no outs on the board, Ford forced a fly out and a double-play to end the inning and the game.
In game two, Hart (3-6) put on a clinic on the rubber with a career-high 12 strikeouts over seven innings of work. Old Westbury's Lauren Bloom (2-3) picked up the loss while throwing six strikeouts.
Sage was led at the plate by Alexa Silk (Freehold, NY/Greenville) and Ford. Silk went 3-4 with a run and RBI while Ford was 2-4 with two RBI's.
Hart kept the Old Westbury bats quiet as Gabriella Valdes and Bloom were the only Panthers with a hit.
The first scoring opportunity for either team came in the top of the top of the third when Silk reach third on a single and two stolen bases, but the junior was left stranded on a Gator fly out to right field. Old Westbury responded in the bottom of the fourth with runners on second and third on a set of singles. With only one out, Hart got out of the jam with a groundout and a strikeout.
With the score tied 0-0, the Panthers had another key scoring situation in the bottom of the sixth with bases loaded and no outs. The Gators came up with their first out of the inning on a fielder's choice to get the runner at home. Hart embraced the pressure and struck out the next two batters to get out of the jam and keep the game scoreless.
In the top of the seventh, Sage ended the stalemate when Kristen Silk (Freehold, NY/Greenville) scored the first run on a Montague RBI. Two batters later, the Gators scored their second run on an Alexa Silk single up the middle. Sage extended its lead to 4-0 when Ford hit a two RBI single to left field.
Hart and the Gator defense held Old Westbury off in the bottom of the seventh to take the game and complete the sweep.
With her performance today, Alex Silk moved up to fourth in career runs with 88, passing Kellie Jones. The junior also moved up to third in career stolen bases with 32, passing Carla Pasquarelli.
Sage's sweep today launched the Gators into second in the Skyline, one game behind undefeated St. Joseph's – Long Island (8-0). Behind Sage are Mount Saint Mary (6-1) and Farmingdale State (4-4) with St. Joseph's – Brooklyn (3-3) and Purchase (2-2) taking the last two spots in the top six.
The Gators travel to Mount Saint Mary tomorrow for their second Skyline doubleheader of the weekend. The first game is set to begin at noon.