FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Curry College softball team played their final games at the Gene Cusic Classic on Friday against the College at Brockport and the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). While dealing with emotions surrounding the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Colonels were unable to come away with a victory on their final day of action during spring break.
Game One: Brockport 15, Curry 6
The Golden Eagles started the game hot, scoring seven runs over the first three innings. However, just one of them came in as an earned run. The Colonels got one back in the bottom half of the third, but failed to tack on any more runs despite loading the bases with two outs in the frame. In the bottom of the fourth, however, Curry pushed three runs across the plate, capped by a two-out, two-run single into left field off the bat of Liana Duarte (Taunton, Mass.). After watching their lead get cut to three, Brockport brought their lead back to four with a score in the fifth, but a pair of bases-loaded sac flies in the bottom half of the inning brought the Colonels to within two at 8-6. After the Golden Eagles made it 9-6 in the sixth, the Colonels' bats went quiet. In the top of the seventh, five hits and an error helped the Golden Eagles score six runs to break the game open at 15-6. After the Colonels threatened with a pair of base runners in the bottom of the seventh, Brockport closed out the game with a routine fly out to take it by a final score of 15-6.
A pair of Brockport players turned in three-hit games in Megan Cullen (Burnt Hills, N.Y., 3-for-5) and Alison Missavage (Maine-Endwell, N.Y., 3-for-4). Missavage and Jessica Koneski (Fairport, N.Y.) drove in three runs each, while Cullen crossed the plate four times. Duarte (2-for-5), Taylor Newcomb (Millville, Mass., 2-for-4), and Molly Horn (Buzzards Bay, Mass., 2-for-4) all contributed multi-hit efforts for the Colonels, while Duarte accounted for three RBI. Clare Aroune (Fairport, N.Y., 1-0) earned the win, going all seven and striking out four. In an error-filled game, the Colonels scored six runs on nine hits off of Aroune, but just one earned run was recorded. On the Colonels' side, the loss is handed to Carrigan Costello (Wolcott, Conn., 1-4), who struck out one batter over six and a third. Brockport pushed 14 runs across on 11 hits against the Curry starter, but just five runs were earned as the Colonel fielders were saddled with seven errors.
Brockport improved to 1-2 on the year, before taking their second game of the day 14-11 over SUNY Canton to move to .500 at 2-2. The Golden Eagles went on to win all six of their games over the next three days before their season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After facing defeat in each of their first two games of the season, the team ended the year on an eight-game win streak.
Game Two: RIT 12, Curry 7
The Colonels jumped out early in their second game of the day, taking a 3-0 lead in the second inning, highlighted by a Jordan Perzan (Burlington, Conn.) two-out, two-run double. The lead would not last long, though, as the Tigers exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the fourth, aided by three Curry errors. The Colonels responded by scoring three runs in the top of the fifth before an out had been recorded, then tied the game three batters later thanks to an RBI single by Newcomb with two down. The Colonels' momentum would be short-lived, however, as a homer and a sac fly in the next half-inning pushed RIT ahead for good. In the bottom of the sixth, the Tigers pushed another pair of runs across the board to make it 12 runs in the span of three innings, bringing the score to 12-7. As the seventh inning rolled around, the Colonels managed one hit, but came up short of their goal, as RIT took the game by a 12-7 final.
The majority of the Tigers' production came from the bottom of the order, as Jennifer Vickery (Gloversville, N.Y.), Torie Adler (West Chester, Pa.), and Hannah Trumble (Pittsford, N.Y.) combined to go 7-for-12 with four RBI and six runs scored in the seven, eight, and nine spots in the order, respectively. Jocelyn Dimond (Weare, N.H.) and Michaela Colleran (East Bridgewater, Mass.) each turned in two hits for Curry, while Colleran and Perzan drove in two runs apiece. Adler (5-1) earned the win, shutting out the Colonels and striking out three over the final two and two thirds, while Costello (1-5) wound up with the loss, giving up five runs on five hits in two innings on the mound.
With the win, the Tigers' record improves to 7-3 on the year while the Colonels go to 2-8 overall after a 0-2 day. Unfortunately, following the game, both teams' seasons were cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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