TROY, NY – Senior Jessica Adams (Nassau, NY/Columbia) went 5-for-6 with six RBI's while junior Amy Hart (St. Johnsville, NY/Little Falls) dominated in the circle with 13 strikeouts in Sage's sweep of Sarah Lawrence Saturday afternoon.
The Gators took game one 6-0 and went on to win the second game 10-2 in five innings.
Adams had an impressive six runs, four doubles and a two-run homer to lead Sage (15-15, 10-4 Skyline). Sophomore Kiersten Duncan (Millerton, NY/Taconic Hills) was 4-for-7 with two doubles and two RBI's while freshman Destiny Wierzbicki (Albany, NY/Troy) was 3-for-4 with a triple and two RBI's. The dynamic duo of Alexa and Kristen Silk (Freehold, NY/Greenville) combined for seven runs while Hart helped herself with a three-run home run and a sacrifice fly.
Hart (7-8) pitched two complete games with 13 strikeouts while giving up two runs on seven hits. Sarah Lawrence's (6-21-1, 2-14 Skyline) Mikayla Cunningham (5-10) picked up the loss in game one while Karissa McAuley (1-8) took the loss in game two on two strikeouts.
The Gryphons were led at the plate by Taryn Penna with two hits, including a double, while Sarah Shapiro had two RBI's on one hit.
In game one, Sage jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second when Adams scored on a Duncan single to left center. One batter later, Hart hit her first home run of the season to center to put the Gators up 4-0. In the next inning, Wierzbicki tripled down the right field line to give Sage its fifth run.
In the top of the fifth, the Gryphons had runners on first and second for the third time, but Hart got out of the inning unscathed.
The Gators added a sixth run in the bottom of the fifth when Adams scored on a Hart sacrifice fly to left field. The next inning and half were scoreless, and Sage went on to win 6-0.
In the second game, Sarah Lawrence loaded the bases with Penn, Mackenzie Mindish and Karissa McAuley were all hit by pitches. After Hart got her first out of the inning on a strikeout, Shapiro singled up the middle to bring Penna and Mindish across the plate and give the Gryphons their first lead of the day. With runners on the corners, Hart got out of the jam on a fielder's choice and a foul fly out to end the top of the inning.
The Gators refused to stay down for long as Adams hit a two run homer in the bottom of the first to tie the game 2-2. Sage then took a 5-2 lead in the bottom of the second on RBI doubles from Adams and Duncan. The Gators added another three run on hits from Adams and Wierzbicki to go up 8-2.
In the top of the fifth, Duncan made split stretch at first to complete the 1-6-3 ground rule double play to end the inning. With two outs on the board in the bottom of the inning, Alexa and Kristen Silk scored on errors to force a mercy rule and end the game with a 10-2 score.
With her effort today, Adams moved into second in career doubles (38) and third in career RBI's (88). Duncan also moved up in the career doubles list into eighth while Hart moved into ninth for career strikeouts (104).
With a week to go in Skyline play, Mount Saint Mary (12-1) leads the conference followed by St. Joseph's – Long Island (10-2). Sage sits in third with Farmingdale (6-4), Purchase (6-6), Mount Saint Vincent (5-5), St. Joseph's – Brooklyn (4-6) and Old Westbury (4-9) fighting for the last three playoff spots.
The Gators continue conference play tomorrow in a doubleheader against St. Joseph's – Brooklyn. The first pitch is set to be thrown at Robison at noon.
