By Michael Otero
Co-Editor-in-Chief
On Thursday, March 10, the softball team wrapped up their regional play at the PFX Spring Games in sunny Clermont, FL. In game one against American International College, the Pioneers pounded the opposing pitchers for 15 hits and 12 runs in a 12-5 victory.
Junior pitcher Ashley Martin earned her second win of the season, going five innings, scattering eight baserunners and striking out six. At the dish, senior infielder Maria Palmeri drove in two runs in four at-bats while sophomore catcher Emily DeVito, fresh off the bench, came through with a big two-run base-knock in the late innings to put the Pioneers up for good.
Later that same day, the Pioneers showed their ability to win games in different ways. Coming off an offensive explosion just hours earlier, the Pioneers battled Assumption College and won by a score of 1-0.
The lone run came curtesy of senior pitcher Isabella Corrao who knocked in freshman infielder Leah Mele in the first inning on a little old single. Both teams totaled just six hits, but the Pioneers got the most out of those hits, scratching the only run across home plate.
In the circle, freshman hurler Hannah Olshevski went the distance, allowing seven total baserunners and striking out a pair. The Pioneer defense was stellar as well; committing zero errors on a day where Assumption put the ball in play more times than not. Olshevski improved her record to 4-0 while her counterpart, Roy Kendal, dropped to 2-2 on the season.
In their penultimate matchup in Florida, the Pioneer bats were stifled by Minot State University’s Alyssa Cornejo. The junior improved to 5-1, going eight shutout innings, allowing three hits and striking out eight. For the Pioneers, Martin also went eight innings, but got zero run support and suffered the loss when Minot State pushed three runs across in the eighth inning.
The Pioneer bats were shut down again during the nightcap when senior pitcher Sarah Appold of Saginaw Valley State struck out nine over seven innings and allowed zero runs. Saginaw Valley handled their business at the plate too, scoring a run in the first and three more in the second thanks to a three run home run off the bat of senior infielder Jessica Wood.
The Pioneers have now been shutout in two straight games and have put together a combined six hits during that span. Head Coach Jamie Apicella will try and right the ship on Wednesday, March 16, when they return to Long Island to face-off against Adelphi University in a double-dip from Garden City, N.Y. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.
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