TROY, NY – Sage combined for 24 hits over 12 innings of play to complete a key sweep over Skyline foe Mount Saint Vincent on Saturday afternoon. The Gators took game one 7-0 followed by a 24-2 win in the nightcap.
Prior to the first pitch, the senior class of Allison Ford (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville), Katy Rimawi (Ballston Spa, NY/Ballston Spa) and Jessica Adams (Nassau, NY/Columbia) were honored by their team and head coach Jamie Brown in conjunction with senior day.
Sage (19-17, 14-4 Skyline) was led at the plate by Adams who was 5-for-7 with six runs, five hits, three doubles and three RBI's. Rimawi had a team-high six RBI's with a grand slam over the centerfield fence while going 4-for-8 with three runs. Junior Alexa Silk (Freehold, NY/Greenville) was 5-for-8 with six runs, four RBI's, three stolen bases, a double and a triple while Kristen Silk (Freehold, NY/Greenville) was 2-for-4 with five RBI's, four runs, one stolen base and a three-run homer.
Taking game one for Sage was Amy Hart (St. Johnsville, NY/Little Falls) (10-10) with the seven-inning complete game shutout. The junior recorded three strikeouts to tie Erika Daigle's 2014 single-season strikeout record with 129. Ford (9-7) came up with the win in game two on a five-inning complete game with four strikeouts.
Picking up the losses for Mount Saint Vincent (19-17, 8-8 Skyline) were Mackenzie (4-7) and Rachel (8-5) Heizer. The Dolphins were led at the plate by Alana Alioto-Reyes who was 4-for-5 with one run while Rianna Laughridge had Mount Saint Vincent's lone RBI while going 2-for-5. Rachel Heizer scored the only other run for the day with one double.
In game one, Sage broke up the 0-0 stalemate in the bottom of the third when Alexa Silks scored on an Adams double to right center. Two batters later, Adams scored on a fielding error to put the Gators up 2-0. Sage added a third run in the bottom of the fifth when Adams scored on a Destiny Wierzbicki (Albany, NY/Troy) sacrifice fly to centerfield.
In the top of the sixth, Alioto-Reyes was on first for the Dolphins with one out on the board, but Mackenzie Heizer flied into a double play in right field. Ford made the catch in the outfield followed by a quick throw to Kiersten Duncan (Millerton, NY/Taconic Hills) at first base to complete the double play. In the bottom of the inning, Aanisah Taylor (Great Barrington, MA/Monument Mountain Regional) and Kristen Silk put Sage up 5-0 on an Alexa Silk double to left center. Alexa Silk then scored on an Adams single to left field for the Gator's sixth run. Alexa Silk continued the scoring for Sage two batters later on a Duncan sacrifice fly to centerfield to put the Gators up 7-0.
In a must-score situation, Hart forced the first batter to groundout followed by a fly out to left field. With two outs on the board, Mount Saint Vincent's Taylor Milata hit a shallow ball to centerfield, but a charging Kristen Silk made the diving catch to end the game and seal the shutout.
In the second game, Sage started scoring early when Alexa Silk scored on an Adams double to left center followed by Adams scoring on a throwing error to put the Gators up 2-0.
After a scoreless second inning, Rimawi hit a grand slam over the centerfield fence in the bottom of the third to put Sage up 6-0. Four batters later, Duncan crossed home plate on a Brittany Brooks (North Bangor, NY/Salmon River Central) single at the pitcher followed by a Wierzbicki run off a Kristen Silk sacrifice fly. The Gators kept the bats going and with Brooks, Hart and Alexa Silk all scoring on singles from Alexa Silk and Ford to put Sage up 11-0 going into the fourth.
In the top of the fourth, Alioto-Reyes led off with a single to right field followed by Rachel Heizer double to left center to put Dolphins in their best scoring position of the day. After a pop up put one out on the board, Alioto scored Mount Saint Vincent's first run of the day on a wild pitch. Two batters later, Rachel Heizer scored on a Laughridge single to centerfield to cut the lead to 11-2.
The Gators responded with their highest scoring inning of the season. Sage added 13 runs on RBI's from Hart, Brooks, Alexa Silk, Ford, Adams, Rimawi, Duncan, Taylor and a three-run homer from Kristen Silk to go up 24-2.
The Dolphins were able to get a runner on base in the top of the seventh when Sophia Frankovich singled through the left side, but Ford force a 1-6-3 ground-rule double play to end the game.
With two days remaining in the regular season, Sage has locked in the third seed for the Skyline Championships. Taking the one and two seeds are Mount Saint Mary (17-1) and St. Joseph's-Long Island (14-4). Farmingdale State (11-7) took the four seed followed by Mount Saint Vincent in fifth. Fighting for the final playoff spot are St. Joseph's – Brooklyn (6-10) and Purchase (6-10). If both teams remain tied after Tuesday, Purchase holds the tie breaker having split with Mount Saint Mary.
The Skyline Conference Championships are set to be played at Mount Saint Mary in Newburgh, NY May 4-7. Sage will take on Farmingdale on Thurs., May 4 at 1:30 p.m. as the home team. If the Gators win, they will move on to play the winner of St. Joseph's – Long Island and Mount Saint Vincent Fri., May 5 at 11:30 a.m. in the double-elimination tournament. If Sage loses their first game to Farmingdale, they would then play the winner of Mount Saint Mary and Purchase/St. Joseph's – Brooklyn on Fri., May 5 at 9:30 a.m.