Game One Boxscore
Game Two Boxscore

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – A quartet of hurlers allowed a total of seven hits over the course of a doubleheader to drive the Southern Connecticut State University softball team to a sweep the visiting Bentley College Falcons in a Northeast-10 Conference twin bill at Pelz Field on Saturday afternoon. Senior Jessica Dempsey (Stratford, Conn.) and junior Amanda Pindar (New Britain, Conn.) allowed just one hit apiece in a 5-1 victory in game one. The Owls clawed to a scrappy, 10-inning 5-4 win in game two, as the pitching trio of sophomore Nicole Marcelynas (Watertown, Conn.), sophomore Megan Caporossi (Northford, Conn.) and Pindar did not allow an earned run.

With the sweep, The Owls improved to 17-22 overall and 10-8 in Northeast-10 Conference games. The Falcons dropped to 16-16 overall and 9-7 in conference play.

Game one held at a deadlock through three innings, but the Southern Connecticut offense broke out with four runs in the bottom of the fourth. Junior Brittany Gandley (Holbrook, N.Y.) led off the inning with a single and subsequently advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch. Junior Monica Savarese (Orange, Conn.) then singled to move Gandley to third, and junior Christina Wolf (Newtown, Conn.) followed with the big hit in the inning: a two-run triple to the gap in right centerfield. The next batter, junior Amanda St. George (Shelton, Conn.), doubled the same gap in center to push Wolf across home plate and run the score to 3-0 in favor of the home team. After two quick outs, sophomore Julianne Flood (Poughquag, N.Y.) drew a walk and St. George took third when ball four eluded the Bentley catcher. A double steal brought about the fourth run of the frame, as Flood took off for second base and St. George swiped home as the catcher's throw sailed across the diamond.

Southern Connecticut tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth inning, as Caporossi belted her eighth home run of the season to bring the score to 5-0.

The Falcons broke up the Owls' shutout bid in the sixth inning, as a Christine D'Amico double plated a run, but the visitors from Waltham, Mass. would not get any closer to the Southern Connecticut lead. When Pindar recorded the final out, the score remained at 5-1 in favor of the Owls. 

Dempsey surrendered just one hit in her 3.2 innings of work. She struck out four batters and walked two. Pindar allowed one hit and one earned run in her 3.1 inning relief effort to earn the win and improve to 7-8 on the season. Kelsey Vella took the loss for Bentley, working the first four innings and allowing four runs on six hits in that time.

Wolf and Savarese led the Owls' offense in game one, as each batter was 2-for-3 from the plate.

Game two remained a scoreless stalemate through the first six innings, as Bentley hurler Ashley Messina and the Southern Connecticut combination of Nicole Marcelynas and Megan Caporossi surrendered a total of four hits in that span.

The Falcons broke the deadlock, as they rallied with two down in the top of the seventh inning for three unearned runs. Leigh Cavanaugh and Alex Hitchcock both reached and moved into scoring position by way of Owls' fielding errors. D'Amico cashed in on the opportunity with a double to right centerfield that plated both Bentley runners. Briana Kneeland then reached and D'Amico scored on the third Southern Connecticut defensive miscue of the frame to give the Falcons a 3-0 lead entering the Owls' final at-bats.
In the Southern Connecticut seventh, Caporossi started the rally with a lead-off double. Gandley then flied out to deep right field, moving Caporossi to third. Savarese came through for the Owls with a base hit to drive in Caporossi and cut the Bentley lead to two runs at 3-1. Wolf then smacked a single to right field, and a tricky hop and defensive miscue by Bentley right fielder Ashley DeRosa on the play brought Wolf all the way around to third base, and plated Savarese to bring the Falcons' cushion to a single run. St. George delivered the tying run to the plate in her at-bat with a sacrifice fly to score Pindar, who had entered as a pinch runner for Wolf. Messina pitched her way out of the inning for Bentley, but the damage had already been done as the game entered extra innings knotted up at 3-3.

The score remained tied at three as the game entered the 10th inning and the International Tiebreaker rule took effect. With a runner starting in scoring position on second base per the rule, Bentley cashed in in their half of the frame. DeRosa dropped a sacrifice bunt to start the inning and move Nicole Spinale, the inherited runner, to third base. Spinale then scored on an error by St. George at shortstop. Marcelynas, who started the game for the Owls and re-entered on the hill in the 10th inning from the flex position, induced the final two outs of the inning before any more damage was done, and the Owls went to work in their half of the frame trailing 4-3.

After a quick out to begin the inning, sophomore Khristle Lee (Aztec, N.M.) singled to right field to advanced freshman Robin Priest (Cheshire, Conn.), the Owls' inherited base runner, to third. Lee promptly stole second base to move herself into scoring position. Caporossi then delivered the game winner for the Owls, a base hit through the left side of the infield that plated Priest. As a desperation throw to nab the tying run at the plate sailed high, Lee was able to cross the plate with the game-winning tally as the Owls claimed a 5-4 victory.

Marcelynas pitched a total of six innings in the contest, surrendering four hits and no earned runs en route to improving to 3-3 on the season. Messina worked all 9.1 innings for Bentley, falling to 6-6 on the season.

Caporossi and Savarese each turned in multi-hit games for the Owls, posting identical lines of 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.

The Owls return to the diamond on Sunday, April 20, as they host conference opponent Franklin Pierce for an afternoon twin bill. The first pitch of game one is scheduled for 1 p.m. from Pelz Field in New Haven.