SOFTBALL SWEEPS QUEENS WITH
A PAIR OF COMEBACKS
Christina Pane, Kelly Kinyon and Sarah Meleny combine for
five homeruns
PLEASANTVILLE, NY - The Pace University softball team swept a non-conference doubleheader from regional foe Queens College with two come from behind victories. The Setters took the opener 4-3 in nine innings and finished off the sweep with a 5-4 victory in the nightcap. With their wins, Pace improves to 13-11 overall on season, while Queens drops to 11-19 on the year.
Queens struck first in the opener scoring a run in the top of the second inning as freshman Bryttne Nelson (Bonney Lake, WA) doubled to right field and came around to score on an RBI single to center from classmate Allison Castellucci (Staten Island, NY). The Setters tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI single from junior Kiryl Shada (Pleasant Prairie, WI/Tremper) that brought home senior Kelly Kinyon (Levittown, PA/Harry S. Truman). Pace would later take their first lead of the game in their next inning as junior Christina Pane (Stony Point, NY/Cardinal Spellman) belted her first long ball of the year, a solo homerun, in the bottom of the fifth that gave the Setters the 2-1 advantage.
The Lady Knights would not go down easy as they rallied for two runs in the top half of the sixth, benefiting from a pair of Pace errors, to retake the lead 3-2. The Setters would tie the game again in their final at-bat, as Pane struck again with her second solo homerun of the game that forced extra innings. The game would remain 3-3 until the bottom of the ninth as Patti Hurley (Assonet, MA/Apponequet) ended the game with an RBI single that brought in sophomore Amanda Dague (Spring, TX/Klein Collins).
Shada (6-5) picked up her sixth win of the season pitching all nine innings, allowing three runs (one earned) on nine hits, while walking one and striking out nine. Her counterpart sophomore Christy Sanders (4-7) took the loss going 8 2/3 innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on 10 hits, while walking one and striking out 10.
The Setters would strike first in game two as Kinyon crushed her first homerun of the season in the bottom of the second to give Pace a 1-0 lead. Queens would rally in the top of the fourth inning scoring three runs on four hits to take a 3-1 advantage. The Setters, refusing to go down easy, battled back in the bottom half of the fourth scoring a pair of runs to tie the game at 3 apiece. Kinyon went deep for the second time in the game, while Dague's RBI single brought home Shada.
The Lady Knights retook the lead in the top of the seventh on an RBI single from junior Nicole Mancusi (Staten Island, NY) that scored Castellucci. The Setters would have the last laugh in the bottom of the seventh as they rallied for two runs to take the doubleheader sweep. Pace struck quickly as freshman Sarah Meleney (Rockville, MD/Richard Montgomery) led off the inning with a solo homerun to tie the game at 4-4. After Dague followed with a single, Pane singled to move Dague to third and a throwing error by the Lady Knights defense attempting to pick-off Dague at third allowed her to walk in for the winning run.
Freshman Alicia Parlon (Norton, MA/Norton) (3-3) picked up the win pitching three innings of relief allowing just one run on three hits, while walking one and fanning two. Nelson (4-6) took the loss tossing six innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on 10 hits, walking one and striking out three.
Pace returns to action tomorrow, Friday, April 11th,
(weather permitting) as the Setters will travel to Springfield,
Massachusetts to take on Northeast-10 Conference rival American
International College. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.