Albertus, USJ Collect Victories in Pod A Play

WINTHROP, Mass. - Both No. 2 and No. 3 South Seeds Collected victories in Pod A Play on Friday afternoon/evening at Rivier University as the two-seeded Albertus Magnus and third-seed University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) defeated the two North teams in host Rivier and Saint Joseph's (Maine). The Falcons put an end to the Monks' season as they collected 18 runs to put forth a 18-10 victory while the Blue Jays upset thr Raiders in a tight victory, 5-4.

As a result, Albertus Magnus will face Rivier tomorrow at 11 AM with a chance to keep both of their season's alive, with the winner facing USJ at 4 pm. If the Blue Jays become victorious, they earn a spot in the Championship Series next weekend. The winner of Albertus/Rivier will have to battle and win the next two games (one on Sunday, May 4th) in order to clinch that spot in the Championship Series.

Recap/Photo Courtesy of Albertus Magnus Athletic Communications

NASHUA, N.H. - The Albertus Magnus College softball team put on a record-breaking performance at the plate, outslugging the Saint Joseph's College of Maine Monks, 18-10 during pod play of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship on Friday evening at Rivier University.

The 18 runs were the most runs scored in program history in the GNAC Championship. They were also the most runs scored by the Falcons in a game since 2023 when they scored 18 runs against Skidmore.

Every Falcon in the starting lineup had a hit and scored a run.

Izzy Barreiro (Brookfield, Conn.) went 3-for-4 with twp runs and five RBI. Mikaela Schwippert (Whippany, N.J.) went 3-for-6 with three doubles, three runs and two RBI. Gabby Rubino(Southington, Conn.) hit a three-run homer and scored twice. Isabelle Smith (Meriden, Conn.), Skylar Arent (Ridgefield, Conn.), Karla Carangelo (Cheshire, Conn.), Colleen Edwards (Clinton, Conn.) and Amelia Boulli (Torrington, Conn.) each scored two runs in the game as well.

Albertus had 17 hits on the day, which was a season-high. 

The Falcons scored eight runs in the top of the seventh.

Albertus will now play Rivier on Saturday at 11 a.m. The winner moves on to play the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) later in the day. The loser will be eliminated.

The Falcons now have 26 wins on the season, which are the most since 2022 when they had 29.

THE BASICS

FINAL: Albertus Magnus 18 | SJC 10

RECORDS: Albertus (26-16) | SJC (17-24)

BOX

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Monks got on the board with two runs in the bottom of the first, taking advantage of an error to score two unearned runs.
• Albertus answered with seven runs over the next two innings to take a 7-2 lead after the top of the third. In the four-run second inning, Schwippert doubled, followed by a Carangelo single put Albertus on the board. Barreiro and Smith singled later in the inning that gave Albertus the 3-2 lead before Smith scored on a wild pitch. In the top of the third, Barreiro delivered again with a two-run single that scored Edwards and Carangelo. A bases loaded walk from Smith put the Falcons ahead by five runs.
• The Monks rallied with a run in the third on a solo homer from Chantelle Bouchard. They followed that up with two runs in the fourth on RBI singles by Sadie Tirrell and Charlotte Cloutier. Cloutier then added another RBI single in the bottom of the fifth, closing the Albertus lead to 7-6.
• The Falcons got some breathing room back in the top of the sixth as an error by the SJC defense led to a run, followed by two bases load walks made it a 10-6 Albertus lead.
• Albertus put together one of their best offensive innings of the season in the top of the seventh with an eight run inning as 13 batters came to the plate. Smith and Gianna Carrano (West Haven, Conn.) singled to start the inning and a fielder's choice from Arent - where SJC failed to record an out - put Albertus up, 11-6. Schwippert followed with her third double of the game to drive in two more runs. Two batters later, Edwards drove in a run with a single to left and Barreiro later followed with an RBI double. Rubino put the icing on the cake with her first career homer, driving a pitch over the left field fence for an 18-6 lead.
• The Monks scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh as Tirrell hit a three-run homer to highlight the inning.

ON THE HILL

Albertus

Annabelle Jabs  (East Hartland, Conn.) (W, 10-7) 2.1 IP | 3 Hits | 1 Run | 1 ER | 0 BB | 2 K

Skylar Arent 3.2 IP | 3 Hits | 1 Run | 1 ER | 0 BB | 2 K

Ema Signore (North Haven, Conn.) 1.0 IP | 4 Hits | 3 Runs | 3 ER | 0 BB | 0 K

SJC

Rylee Page (L, 7-9) 2.2 IP | 10 Hits | 7 Runs | 6 ER | 0 BB | 0 K

Miranda Northrup 1.0 IP | 2 Hits | 3 Runs | 3 ER | 2 BB | 0 K

Madison Pelletier 3.1 IP | 5 Hits | 6 Runs | 1 ER | 6 BB | 1 K 

AT THE PLATE

Albertus

Mikaela Schwippert 3-for-6 | 3 2B | 3 Runs | 2 RBI

Izzy Barreiro 3-for-4 | 1 2B | 2 Runs | 5 RBI

Gabby Rubino 1-for-4 | 1 HR | 2 Runs | 3 RBI

Isabelle Smith 2-for-4 | 2 Runs | 1 RBI

Colleen Edwards 2-for-4 | 2 Runs | 1 RBI 

SJC

Sadie Tirrell 2-for-4 | 1 HR | 2 Runs | 4 RBI

Chantelle Bouchard 1-for-5 | 1 HR | 1 Run | 1 RBI

Charlotte Cloutier 2-for-4 | 2 Runs | 2 RBI

Recap/Photo Courtesy of USJ Athletic Communications

NASHUA, N.H. – The South Division third-seeded University of Saint Joseph (USJ) softball team continued the 2025 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament Friday afternoon, upsetting North Division top-seeded Rivier University (Rivier), 5-4, at Raider Diamond in Nashua, N.H. The Blue Jays served as the home team in the matchup with the Raiders. With the result, the Blue Jays (20-17) advance in the winner's bracket of Pod A and move within one game of securing a spot in the GNAC Championship Series. The Raiders (22-14) drop into the loser's bracket and will now play in an elimination game tomorrow against the winner of tonight's Albertus Magnus College and Saint Joseph's College of Maine contest.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• USJ grabbed the early lead after senior first baseman Alyssa Roberts (Naugatuck, Conn.) slashed an RBI double down the left field line, plating sophomore infielder Jennifer Antonowicz(Wolcott, Conn.) to establish a 1-0 edge.
• Rivier almost answered back in the top of the second, loading the bases with two outs, but starting pitcher junior Paige Fekete (Watertown, Conn.) picked up a vital strikeout to end the inning and preserve the 1-0 USJ lead.
• The Blue Jays rewarded Fekete in the bottom half of the inning, as junior outfielder Avianna Ibrahim (Colchester, Conn.) slashed a single to center field, scoring freshman outfielder Lorynes Suriel (Lynn, Mass.) to increase the gap to 2-0.
• Two batters later, Antonowicz launched a bases clearing triple to the right center gap and came around to score on a throwing error by the Raiders' center fielder extending the gap to 5-0 after two innings.
• Rivier pulled a run back in the top of the third, scoring once to close the deficit to 5-1.
• The Raiders continued to fight back, tacking on three runs in the top of the fourth to pull within one run, 5-4.
• The rest of the game turned into a pitcher's duel, as Roberts shut the door on Rivier to preserve the victory, 5-4.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Antonowicz paced the team with a 2-for-4 outing at the plate, notching two RBI.
• Roberts and Suriel also posted multi-hit games.
• Roberts and Ibrahim notched one RBI each.
• Fekete got the start inside the circle, earning a no-decision after allowing four runs, two of which were earned, off six hits and tossing four strikeouts in 3.1 innings.
• Roberts earned the win (8-7) after tossing 3.2 scoreless innings, allowing only two hits.

UP NEXT

The Blue Jays continue Pod A Play tomorrow, Saturday May 3, and will meet the winner of game 7A, which features the Raiders and the winner of tonight's Albertus Magnus versus Saint Joseph's College matchup, for a chance to advance to the GNAC Championship Series. First pitch at Raider Diamond in Nashua, N.H., is set for 4 p.m.