FORT MYERS, Fla. – The College at Brockport softball team wrapped up their 14 game spring break trip on Thursday afternoon with a doubleheader split, defeating Castleton College 12-0 before dropping a tough 6-4 game against North Central (Illinois). The Golden Eagles finish the trip with an 8-6 record, and will look to carry their momentum back home when they begin conference play later this month.
Game 1 vs. Castleton: Win, 12-0
The win over the Spartans came in five innings, marking the third straight game the Golden Eagles won via the run rule, and fifth straight win overall. This time they used a combination of clutch hitting and a spectacular pitching performance from
Julia Palopoli to pick up the win.
With the bases loaded of Golden Eagles in the top of the first inning,
Lindsay Wachna got the scoring started when she ripped a double over the head of the leaping shortstop and into the left center field gap, clearing the bases and giving Brockport an early 3-0 lead.
They would expand on that lead in the second, once again loading the bases on singles from
Penny Lenard and
Meghan Cullen, as well as a Castleton error. This time it was
Casey Danko providing the damage, launching her third home run of the season over the left field fence, extending the lead to 7-0. The grand slam was Brockport's fifth of the young season, and 12th long ball as a team.
The Golden Eagles would add five more runs between the second and third innings, with two coming on another RBI double from Wachna in the top of the third.
Alison Missavage also had two RBI's in the game, going three-for-three from the plate.
Palopoli picked up her third win of the season with her best outing yet, pitching all five innings without allowing a run. The Hauppauge, N.Y. native gave up just one hit in the game, and stuck out five Spartan hitters. Palopoli has started her collegiate campaign with a bang, compiling a 3-1 record in her five games of work, while sporting an ERA of just 2.07 and a .221 batting average against.
Game 2 vs. North Central: Loss, 6-4
The offense appeared to be ready to go again early in the back end of the doubleheader, as
Jessica Koneski and Wachna went back-to-back with RBI line drives in the first to give Brockport an early 2-0 lead. They extended that lead in the bottom of the second when
Kacie Hubbard led off the inning with a single and was later scored from second when
Penny Lenard drove a base hit up the middle for her first of two hits in the game.
Despite another solid outing from
Becky Knorr, North Central was able to capitalize on their opportunities, scoring two in the third, one in the fourth, and three in the sixth to get to their six run total. Brockport threatened with multiple base runners in the fifth, sixth, and seventh, but were unable to get the tying run across, falling 6-4 and snapping their five game winning streak.
The Golden Eagles end their spring trip with 130 runs scored in 14 games (9.3 runs-per-game). They collected 201 hits, including 22 doubles and 12 home runs, combining to hit for a .440 average. They've also drawn 47 walks and been hit by seven pitches, reaching base in nearly half of their plate appearances as a team (.493 OBP).
The Green and Gold will travel back to Brockport for a two week break before hitting the road again, this time making the short trek to Rochester, N.Y. for a doubleheader against Nazareth College on March 28th.
Be sure to stay up to date on all of your Golden Eagle scores and awards by following @BportAthletics on Twitter and by liking the "Brockport Golden Eagles" Facebook page.
