SAGE SOFTBALL TEAM FINISHES AS ECAC TOURNAMENT RUNNERS-UP AFTER TAKING TO THE FIELD THREE TIMES ON SUNDAY
Galloway, NJ--- The Sage College's softball team advanced to the championship and final game of the 2012Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Metro NY-NJ Division III Softball Championship, but needed to win two games on Sunday before they forced a seventh and final game of the tournament. The event, which was a double elimination four-team tournament, was held at Richard Stockton College.
For the season, the 2012 Gators accomplished a number of program highs and shattered the program's 40-year old record book. Jamie Brown's first season as head coach of the Sage Gators set a new standard for success as the team won a school record 29 games, strung together 13 straight wins at one points, garnered No. 2 seeds in both the Skyline Conference Championship as well as the ECAC Tournament and finished the year with a pair of tournament runner-up finishes.
For the season, Sage went 29-17 smashing the Gators' old standards for most games played (46), wins (29) and most runs scored (299).
Sunday's ECAC Scores
Game #5 Noon Sage vs. SUNY-Old Westbury, Sage 14-2 (6 innings)
Game #6 2:45 p.m. Sage def. St. Joseph's (LI), Sage 4-0
Game #7 4:45 p.m. St. Joseph's def Sage, St. Joe's 5-4
Game # 1 Sage 14-2 SUNY-Old Westbury (6 innings)
The Gators came out swinging in the first game of the day as they combined for 18 hits and 14 runs as they downed SUNY-Old Westbury to advance to the ECAC Metro Division III Championship game.
Sophomore catcher Tricia Gaulin (South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls) tied the game at 1-1 as she had an RBI single in the top of the fourth inning. By game's end, she finished with an impressive 3-4 effort at the plate with 5 RBIs. She broke open the game in the fifth inning as she connected on a three RBI home run.
In the fifth inning, rookie Karlie Williams (Schenectady, NY/Mohonasen) had an RBI double down the left line to give Sage their first lead of the game. Rookie Samantha Woitkoski (Troy, NY/Lansingburgh) made it 3-1 Sage with her RBI single to center in the 5th. Gaulin broke it open with her homer and gave the Gators a 6-1 lead through five innings. The sixth inning saw the Gators push 8 runs across the plate as they had six keys hits and made the most of a pair of Panther errors.
Woitkoski finished the game with a 4-4 effort at the plate, 3 RBIs and a pair of runs scored in the game, while Williams and junior pitcher Rachel Smith (Valatie, NY/Ichabod Crane) each drove in a pair of runs to pace the Gators' high-powered attack that combined for 18 hits, which is tied for the second most in a game this season.
Smith collected the complete game win as well for the Gators as she yielded just two earned runs off five hits with a pair of strikeouts. Smith stands at 13-8 with a personal-best 78 strikeouts on the season, while adding a .364 average at the plate with a pair of Sage single-season records for most runs scored (43), most at-bats (154), and most home runs (9).
Game # 2 Sage 4-0 St. Joseph's
The Gators jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning as junior pitcher Kelsey Newberg (New Britain, CT/New Britain) reached base with a one-out double to left field. She moved to third on a single from sophomore short stop Hillary Faas (East Greenbush, NY/Columbia) and scored on a sacrifice fly by rookie Kristen Beikirch (Brockport, NY/Brockport).
In the top of the fourth inning Beikirch connected on a lead-off triple down the right line and came home on a RBI single from Williams.
The Golden Eagles challenged Newberg in the bottom of the fifth inning stranding three runners and she was able to get out of the jam unscathed.
In the top of the seventh inning Williams connected on a two-run homerun to spot the Gators to a 4-0 lead heading into the final at bats for the Golden Eagles and held on for the win and a second shot at a championship crown.
Newberg went the distance in earning the complete game shutout win as she scattered four hits with one strikeout, elevating her records in the process.
Game # 3 St. Joseph's 5-4 Sage
For the second time this season, the Gators advanced to the seventh and deciding game of the championship tournament after facing the same situation in the 2012 Skyline Conference Tournament. This time it was Sage that forced the decisive game, but after running their win streak to three games, their luck fell short as they fell 5-4 in the final game of the season to St. Joseph's College (LI).
The Golden Eagles jumped out to a 3-0 lead with their first at bats of the game and the Gators found themselves playing catch-up the rest of the way. Each inning the team pulled within one run after adding two runs in the bottom of the first inning. The two teams each scored a run in the fourth inning, while the Gators had chances in the bottom of the sixth and seventh innings to tie the game and possibly take the lead.
After playing 20 innings of softball on the day, the Gators could not get past the Golden Eagles and fell in the final tally, 5-4.
For the game, sophomore Chantal Ceragioli (New Paltz, NY/New Paltz) was 3-4, while Faas and Beikirch each drove in runs for the Gators.
Newberg threw 13 consecutive innings for Sage and finishes her record campaign with a 16-9 record, while fanning five in the last game after yielding just one earned run in her 7 innings of work in the championship game. She led the Gators with her single-season strikeout mark of 119, while adding to her active career record of 187, while collecting a record 16 wins in the circle in 2012.
The Gators graduate just one senior from this championship caliber squad, Meghan Welcome (Cohoes, NY/Cohoes). Welcome departs as the program's all-time record holder with 140 career games played. She racked up 106 career hits with 34 doubles, 6 home runs and 63 RBI's.
