Suffolk Wins Two Thursday as GNAC Softball Tournament Double-Elimination Gets Underway

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

#4 ALBERTUS 9, #8 SIMMONS 0
TEAM RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (28-13) | Simmons (15-24)

WINNING PITCHER: Laura Anderson (12-4) - 5 IP | 5 H | 4 SO
LOSING PITCHER: Tori Gomes (4-12) - 1.1 IP | 5 H | 3 R | 1 BB | 1 SO | 1 HR

Providence, R.I. - The Albertus Magnus College softball team advances to the next game of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Tournament as the Falcons defeated eighth-seeded Simmons College, 9-0, on Thursday evening at the Scotts Miracle-Gro Athletic Complex. The fourth-seeded Falconss will now face top-seeded Johnson & Wales at 5:30 p.m.

Also, following today's win over the Sharks, the softball team set a new program record of 28 wins. The most wins set by the program was 27 in 2015.

HOW IT HAPPENED

(B) 1 INNING - Freshman Laura Anderson (East Haven, Conn.) got the Falcons on the board first after hitting a one-out shot over the left field fence for her third home run of the season. Shortly after, the Falcons put runners on first and second, but a pop up by Rachel Cataudella (Shelton, Conn.) would end the inning, leaving Melissa Castillo (Taftville, Conn. and Daysia Wehder (Queens, N.Y.) on base.

(B) 2 INNING - Albertus Magnus extended its lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the second as Gillian Fortier (Naugatuck, Conn.) and Brianna Whitfield (West islip, N.Y.) hit back-to-back RBI singles to send home Morgan Shura (East Haven, Conn.) and Megan Kelly (Bronx. N.Y.), after both reaching first on a single.

(B) 4 INNING - Whitfield pushed the visitors' lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the fourth following an RBI single to left field, allowing Kelly to score after she led off the inning with a single. Two batters later and with two outs on the board, Wehder would clear the bases with a two-run RBI single to left field to give the Falcons the 6-0 lead.

(B) 5 INNING - An inning later, Whitfield would strike again for Albertus, this time recording a three-run homer to left field, securing the 9-0 win over the Sharks. With that home-run, Whitfield now has two home runs on the year.

INSIDE THE STATS

• The Falcons finished the game 11 hits, nine RBI, two walks and four strikeouts.
• Laura Del Vacchio led the Sharks offensive with a team-high two hits while three different playes tallied a hit a piece.
• Following today's win, Anderson recorded her sixth shut out of the season.
• Kelly recorded an impressive showing at the plate as the senior went 3-for-3 with three runs scored.
• Whitfield collected a team-high five RBI, inlcuding a three-run homer in the bottom of the fifth.

Courtesy of Albertus Athletics Communications.

#3 SUFFOLK 4, #6 NORWICH 0
STANDISH, Maine – The third-seeded Suffolk softball team blanked the sixth-seeded Cadets of Norwich, 4-0, at Richard Bailey Field, Thursday afternoon to advance to the winner's bracket of the GNAC Tournament. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 4, Norwich 0
RECORDS: Suffolk (26-15) | Norwich (15-20-1) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
A true pitcher's duel was present for the first 2.5 innings before Suffolk put a pair of runs on the board. A walk by Sydney Littlefield was sandwiched around two Rams striking out. Jaclyn Flint kept the inning alive with a single to left and walk by Jill Pulek loaded the bags. Delaney Sylvester brought Littlefield and Flint in with a single to left to give Suffolk a 2-0 cushion after three innings. 

The Rams stretched their advantage to four in the fourth thanks to a two RBI single from Flint that scored pinch runner Natalie McAllister and Littlefield, who doubled. 

Suffolk maintained its advantage from there, letting the Cadets put just one base runner on over the remaining three innings to hold on for the 4-0 win. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Suffolk's five hits were scattered across four bats with Flint owning two with a 2-for-4 effort for two RBI and one run scored.
• Sylvester collected two RBI on one hit with Littlefield scoring twice and McAllister adding one run.

PITCHERS PICTURE

• Ali Yamakaitis earned the complete-game shutout in the circle as the junior tossed a three-hit, no-run, four-walk, five-strikeout day.
• For Norwich, Rachel Johnson suffered the setback as the Cadet let up five runs on five hits and five walks with four Ks to her credit. 

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk advanced to the winner's column in the conference championship for the first time since 2014.
• The Rams won their second straight versus the Cadets.

Courtesy of Suffolk Athletics Communications.

#1 JWU 13, #4 ALBERTUS 12
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – There was no shortage of runs Friday evening in the GNAC Tournament softball game between Johnson & Wales University and Albertus Magnus College. The top-seeded Wildcats scored 11 runs in the fifth and six innings to win 13-12.

Record:
Albertus Magnus: 28-13
Johnson & Wales: 31-7

Statistical Leaders:
Emily Gorecki (JWU): 2-3, 2 R, 4 RBI
Brenna DuPerry (JWU): 2-4, 2 R, 2 RBI
Laura Anderson (AMC): 3-4, 3 R, 6 RBI

Of Note:
The Falcons picked up the first run of the game when Rachel Cataudella hit a solo home run with two outs in the second inning. Laura Anderson smacked a two-run double to left center as part of a three-run third inning.

Johnson & Wales cut the lead in half in the fourth inning. Kristin Frost (Pear City, Hawaii) got a one-out double then Emily Gorecki (Bremerton, Wash.) drilled a line drive over the left field fence.

AMC picked up another run in the fifth, but JWU scored six runs in the bottom of the inning to take the lead. Frost scored a pair of runs on a two-run single then Diana Amendolara (Newtown, Pa.) hit a towering three-run home run.

Not to be outdone, Albertus Magnus responded with four runs in the top of the sixth. The Falcons got three-straight RBI singles to tie the game then JWU reliever Caitlin Kiene (South Windsor, Conn.) walked Cataudella with the bases load to give AMC the lead, 9-8.

One of the top offenses in the country, Johnson & Wales had the answer with a five-run sixth. Shortstop Brenna DuPerry (Cranston, RI) drilled a three-run triple and Gorecki followed with a two-run double to swing the lead back to JWU, 13-9.

The Falcons didn't go down without a fight as Anderson belted a three-run home run with two outs to pull AMC within a run. Pitcher Jennifer Corona (Middle Island, NY), who started the game and was chased out in the third, came back in the seventh to close out the victory.

Up Next:
Johnson & Wales stays in the winner's bracket where it will face Suffolk at 3 p.m. on Saturday. The Falcons take on Norwich at 10 a.m. that day in an elimination game.  

Courtesy of JWU Athletics Communications.

#3 SUFFOLK 5, #2 SAINT JOSEPH'S 2
STANDISH, Maine – Lindsay Pagano broke up a 1-1 tie in the sixth inning with a grand slam to send the third-seeded Suffolk softball team over the second-seeded St. Joseph's (Maine) Monks, 5-2, Thursday afternoon at Richard Bailey Field. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 5, St. Joseph's (Maine) 2
RECORDS: Suffolk (27-15) | St. Joseph's (Maine) (21-16) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Monks quickly sat down the first two Rams to open the game, but Jaclyn Flint had other things in mind as the sophomore sent a rocket to left field to make it to second. Jill Pulek matched her classmates spot with an identical hit to left, bringing the runner in to give Suffolk a 1-0 lead early. 

SJC leveled the playing field in the bottom of the third. The Monks snuck a run in before the Rams completed a double play to make it a 1-1 game after three complete innings. 

After two scoreless innings, Pagano took advantage of all the ducks in the pond as the senior sent a shot over the fences to clear the bases. The first baseman's grand slam gave the Rams a 5-1 cushion in the bottom of the sixth. 

Pagano's grand slam was a game-changer as the hosts tacked on one run in the home half of the sixth. Ali Yamakaitis came out of the pen to help Suffolk's defense get out of a bases loaded jam and the Rams locked up the 5-2 win thanks to an unassisted out by Pagano. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Pagano's grand slam was the lone hit for the captain, who went 1-for-2 at the plate, and contributed four RBI and one run scored.
• Pulek brought in the other run for the Rams with the designated player notching a double for her lone hit.
• Ashley Zulla and Flint each 2-for-4 with Flint scoring one run. 

PITCHERS PICTURE

• Taylor Holmes earned the win as the junior gave up just two runs on seven hits and four walks, while fanning three in 6.2 innings of action.
• Yamakaitis picked up the save with the junior tossing the final 0.1 of action.
• Kylie McFadden fell for the Monks. The starter allowed three runs on six hits and two walksk with two Ks in 5.1 frames.
• Kristal Smith ad Caitlyn King came on in relief for SJC. King dealt a scoreless inning, while Smith let up two runs on four hits in 0.2 frames of action.

NOTEWORTHY

• Pagano is the first Ram to knock a grand slam in the Jaclyn Davis era and first Ram to unload the bases in recent history.   

Courtesy of Suffolk Athletics Communications. 

First Round - Tuesday, May 2 (single elimination) | RECAP
Game 1: #8 Simmons 6, #5 St. Joseph (Conn.) 4 | BOX
Game 2: #6 Norwich 7, #7 Emmanuel 2 | BOX

Second Round - Thursday, May 4 (double-elim begins)
Game 3: #4 Albertus Magnus 9, #8 Simmons 0 (at #1 JWU) | BOX
Game 4: #3 Suffolk 4, #6 Norwich 0 (at #2 SJC) | BOX
Game 5: #1 JWU 13, #4 Albertus Magnus 12 | BOX
Game 6: #3 Suffolk 5, #2 Saint Joseph's Maine 2 | BOX

Semifinals - Saturday, May 6 (hosted by #1 JWU) | SCHEDULE UPDATE
Game 7: #6 Norwich vs. #4 Albertus Magnus (elim game) - 10:30 AM at BROWN UNIV.
Game 8: #8 Simmons vs. #2 Saint Joseph's Maine (elim game) - 12:30 PM at JWU
Game 9: #3 Suffolk vs. #1 JWU - 2:30 PM at JWU
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner (elim game) - 4:30 PM at JWU

Championship - Sunday, May 7 (hosted by #1 JWU)
Game 11: Game 9 loser vs. Game 10 winner (elim game) - 10:00 AM
Game 12: Game 11 winner vs. Game 9 winner - 12:30 PM
Game 13: if necessary - 3:00 PM

Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 12 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and administers 17 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunities and community involvement. 

– #TheGNAC –