SOFTBALL: Top-Four Seeds Advance to Thursday's GNAC Tourney Single-Elimination Semifinals

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL | TOURNEY BRACKET

NO. 3 USJ 8, NO. 6 NORWICH 0

WINDSOR, Conn. – A star-studded sixth-inning surge propelled the third-seeded University of Saint Joseph (USJ) softball team to an 8-0 win by virtue of the mercy rule over sixth-seeded Norwich University (NOR), in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Quarterfinal matchup Tuesday afternoon at Fastpitch Nation Park. 

Senior pitcher and captain Alessandra Milardo (pictured) was virtually unhittable in her fourth straight win in the circle, extending her consecutive scoreless innings streak to an incomparable 29 innings. In what was an incredible pitcher's duel through the first five innings, how ironic that it would be Milardo at the plate that would end up being the one to break the scoreless tie in the sixth with an RBI single. She ignited an unprecedented stretch in which the Blue Jays scored eight straight runs across a variety of clutch at-bats, all capped by a walk-off grand slam by senior first baseman and captain Amanda Thiel (Torrington, Conn.), her first career home run.

New to this year's GNAC Softball Tournament is a single-elimination format (similar to other GNAC sanctioned sports). The final two teams will play a best two-out-of-three series to determine the 2021 GNAC Softball Champion, hosted by the higher seeds throughout. Saint Joseph now advances to the semifinal round, where they will make the trip to Providence once more for a battle with the second-seed, Johnson & Wales University. The Blue Jays split their regular season doubleheader with the Wildcats back on April 22 (L 17-8, W 8-1).

PLAYER QUOTE [Alessandra Milardo on her success inside the circle]
"It's honestly my catcher, Megan Burke. We have great chemistry, and she knows exactly what I want to throw when I throw it. I am also trying to keep the ball moving up, down, and side-to-side…have to keep the hitters off balance, and Megan knows exactly how to do that."

PLAYER QUOTE [Amanda Thiel on her walk-off grand slam]
"It was basically the small things that kept fueling me throughout today. It was kind of slow in the early going, but once everything started to piece together, people were on, I was actually like 'wow, if I hit a home run here, it would end [the game]', and then I actually did that on a 3-2 pitch. I was really just trying to put the ball somewhere they weren't, and over the fence was just that."

COACH QUOTE [Jim McKinnon] 
"We struggled early on to get hits, heck just to get baserunners…but we didn't lose our focus on the bench. We just had people coming up to bat, and we'd say 'we're going to break through, we're going to break through'. There was a lot of positive talk. These are the things that we need in clutch situations."
 
GAME INFORMATION
Score: Norwich 0, Saint Joseph 8 – 6 Innings
Location: Fastpitch Nation Park | Windsor, Conn.
Notes: GNAC Quarterfinal

GAME NOTES

• Saint Joseph last played Norwich in April 2018 (Blue Jays swept doubleheader, 4-1, 7-6). Former designated player and now assistant coach, McKenna Driscoll, went 6-for-6 in that doubleheader (4 RBI). Milardo was 3-for-6.
• The Blue Jays have now won their last five GNAC playoff games dating back to their title run in 2019.
• Junior center fielder Dara Kelly (Chesterfield, N.J.) hit .476 in the regular season (second in GNAC) for Norwich. She was 1-for-3 Tuesday afternoon (1B, K).

NUMBER TO KNOW

29 – Milardo upped her streak to 29 consecutive scoreless innings dating back to April 27. The senior sensation finished second in the GNAC in ERA (1.18) and third in strikeouts (65) during the regular season. Milardo's last 29 innings include just eight hits, no runs, no walks, and 45 strikeouts out of a possible 99 batters faced.

IN THE CIRCLE

• USJ – Milardo earned the win and improves to 5-3 on the season, allowing three hits in six innings of shutout work. She struck out six.
• NOR – Freshman Annika Beebe (Marianna, Fla.) was dynamite in her own right, holding Saint Joseph hitless until the tail end of the fifth inning. Her effort was admirable, with the final score not indicative of her location shown throughout the contest. She allowed eight runs (7 ER) on five hits in five and a third, striking out five in a losing effort (1-7).

UP NEXT
The Blue Jays move on to the GNAC Semifinals, where they await second-seeded Johnson & Wales University. That game will be held on Thursday, May 6 at 4:00 p.m. at 'The SMAC', on the campus of JWU. The teams split a mid-season doubleheader on April 22. USJ defeated JWU in their last playoff meeting, a 3-2 win in the second round of the 2019 GNAC Tournament.

Courtesy of USJ Athletics Communications.

NO. 4 ALBERTUS 6, NO. 5 RIVIER 1

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Albertus Magnus College softball team defeated the Raiders of River University by a score of 6-1 on Tuesday night to advance to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Softball Tournament Semifinals. Laura Anderson (East Haven, Conn.) threw a gem in the circle, holding the visitors to one run on one hit over 6.0 innings to pick up her eighth win of the season.

THE BASICS
FINAL: Albertus Magnus 6 | Rivier 1
MEETING: This is the 52nd all-time meeting between Albertus and Rivier.
ALL-TIME SERIES: Heading into today's game, Albertus leads the all-time series against Rivier, 28-23.
LOCATION: Shea Softball Complex
BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED
Albertus took the first lead of the contest in the bottom of the second inning, on the back of three singles. Erin Molkenthin (East Haddam, Conn.), Megan Anderson (Levittown, New York), and Ava Gladwin (Guilford, Conn.) each tallied singles to load the bases. Jess Stettinger (East Haven, Conn) gave the Falcons a 1-0 lead with a sacrifice fly to center field.

Albertus added to its advantage in the third inning with another one-run frame. With one out, L. Anderson smacked a double down the right-field line. An error by the third baseman allowed L. Anderson to score from second, when she was unable to handle the throw from the left fielder.

For the third consecutive inning, the Falcons scored runs, taking a commanding 5-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth. With Gladwin and Stettinger on, L. Anderson blasted a three-run home run to left-center. The bomb was the senior's second of the season.

The Falcons were on the edge of blowing the game wide open in the bottom of the sixth, with the bases loaded and two outs. With Janelle Franklin (Middletown, Conn.) on third, Ivy Geloso (Beacon Falls, Conn.) on second, and Kayla Resto (Shelton, Conn.) on first, Erin Molkenthin (East Haddam, Conn.) singled to center to increase the home team's advantage to 6-0. Unfortunately for the Falcons, the Raiders worked out of the jam with an out in the next at-bat.

A six-run lead was more than enough of a cushion for L. Anderson, as she continued her stellar season in the pitching circle. The senior utility player tossed 6.0 dominant innings and allowed just one run on a single hit to improve to 8-2 on the year. She moved into first on the Falcons' all-time leaderboard in innings pitched with 388.0.

Rivier plated one run in the top of the seventh, but it was in vain, as the Falcons advanced to the GNAC Tournament Semifinals with a 6-1 home victory.

TOP PERFORMERS
• WP: Laura Anderson (8-2) | LP: Kellie Kennedy (L, 2-2)
• Molkenthin led all players with three hits, going 3-for-4 with one RBI.
• L. Anderson tallied two hits with two runs scored and two RBIs.
• L. Anderson's home run is the second of her senior season.
• Kasey Smith tallied Rivier's only hit.

NOTEWORTHY
• Tonight's game was the Falcons' 16th appearance in the GNAC tournament. The Falcons are 15-21 all-time in the tournament.
• This is the first meeting between the Falcons and Raiders in the postseason. Albertus holds the edge with the 1-0 record.
• Albertus allowed a season-low one hit.
• L. Anderson allowed a season-best one hit.
• L. Anderson is now the all-time leader in innings pitched for the Falcons with 388.0.

UP NEXT
The fourth-seeded Falcons will travel to Boston to take on No. 1 Emmanuel (Mass.) in the semifinals on Thursday, May 6 at 6:30 PM after the Saints topped No. 8 Anna Maria College in a quarterfinal bout, 6-1, on Tuesday evening.  

Courtesy of Albertus Athletics Communications.

NO. 1 EMMANUEL 6, NO. 8 ANNA MARIA 1

BOSTON, Mass. – Top-seeded Emmanuel College took care of business Tuesday evening in the opening round of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference softball tournament, downing No. 8 Anna Maria College, 6-1, under the lights at Roberto Clemente Field.  

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• Emmanuel grabbed an early 1-0 lead on an RBI single to centerfield by sophomore third baseman Maegan Amsler (Hanover, Mass.) to plate first year shortstop Olivia Conti (Cranston, R.I.).
• Both pitchers were on early as EC senior Megan Long (Greenville, R.I.) and Anna Maria junior Sabrina Liston (Rehoboth, Mass.) traded scoreless innings of work through the fourth to keep the score at 1-0, Saints.
• In the fifth, sophomore centerfielder Julyanne Pacheco (Somerset, Mass.) led off the inning with a single and came around to score on an RBI double down the left field line by junior right fielder Renae Lacroix (Cumberland, R.I.) to make it 2-0. Lacroix eventually came around to score with the help of an AMCats throwing error to bump the lead to 3-0 through five.
• Anna Maria threated in the top of the sixth, loading the bases with no outs. Senior Haley Shaw (Salem, N.H.) reached on an error to open the frame and came around to score the AMCats only run of the action later in the inning on an RBI groundout by Saylor Costa (East Providence, R.I.) to make it 3-1. Long was able to limit the damage to the one unearned run, stranding runners at the corners with back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning.
• The Saints added three insurance runs in the bottom half of the sixth with Pacheco delivering the knockout blow with a 2-RBI triple to right centerfield, moving the score to 5-1. Sophomore Jadynne Hill (Haverhill, Mass.) plated Pacheco with an infield single to account for the final Emmanuel run of the action.
• Long worked around a pair of hits in the seventh to hold on for the 6-1 win.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Long earned her GNAC-leading ninth win of the year to move to 9-2 on the year, allowing one run (zero earned) on four hits while striking out 11.
• Pacheco finished the game going 2-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored while junior catcher Avery Webb (Hollis, N.H.) chipped in with a 2-for-3 outing at the plate.
• Anna Maria centerfielder Shay Savoie (Namao, Alberta) went 2-for-4 and until the final inning was the only AMCat to collect a hit off of Long.

UP NEXT

• The Saints return to action on Thursday, May 6 when they host No. 4 seeded Albertus Magnus College at 6:30 PM. The Falcons topped No. 5 Rivier University by a 6-1 score in their opening round action earlier today.

Courtesy of EC Athletics Communications.

NO. 2 JWU 7, NO. 7 LASELL 3

PROVIDENCE - Shari Minalga hit her first career homerun to spark six straight runs in the final four innings to propel the Wildcats to a 7-3 win over Lasell in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Quarterfinals on Tuesday night.

Statistics:
Julia Huzi: 2-for-3, HR, 2B, 2 RBI
Shari Minalga: 1-for-3, HR, RBI
Jill Pulek: 1-for-3, 2B, RBI

Of Note:
Lasell had the first three runners reach base safely to open the game and saw two runs cross the plate to take a 2-0 lead. JWU answered in the bottom of the first when Huzi laced a double to right center and scored on the next play when Minalga dropped bunt four feet up the line that led to an errant throw for Huzi to round third and score to bring the Wildcats within one.

The Lasers tacked on a run in the 2nd before Minalga sent a homerun to left to bring the hosts within one in the bottom of the 3rd. JWU took the lead for the first time in the 5th when Jill Pulek smacked a double off the left field wall scoring Huzi. Kaelani Gamble reached on a Lasell miscue that scored Pulek to put the Wildcats in fron 4-3. Huzi stepped up in the bottom of the 6th and blasted a homerun off the scoreboard in left to seal the game for JWU with a 7-3 win. 

Sophomore Livia Feole went the distance for the Wildcats tossing the complete game victory. She struck out six, walked one and scattered eight hits, with only two in the final four innings for her fifth win of the year and first career postseason victory.  

Up Next:
Second-seeded JWU will host the semifinals on Thursday night at 4 p.m. against #3 University of Saint Joseph. The two teams split the regular season meeting on April 22.

Courtesy of JWU Athletics Communications.

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 13 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience. 

– #TheGNAC –