Game One: Mount St. Mary's 9, UAlbany 4
Game Two: UAlbany, 6, Drexel 5
Location: Hampton Blue and White Classic – Norfolk, Va.
Short Story: The University at Albany (5-6) softball team turned in two hard-fought decisions on the second day of the Hampton Blue and White Classic, falling to Mount St. Mary's, 9-4, in game one before defeating Drexel, 6-5, in game two on Saturday.
Highlights:
Katie Falotico paced the Great Danes with two RBI.
Sarah Petzold hit .600 (2-for-3) on the day, racking up one double and scoring two runs.
Chelsea Henige, Amelia Ely and Kelly Spear each picked up an RBI.
Aliyah Wade, who walked twice, was successful in both steal attempts.
Game One:
The Great Danes offense came alive early, scoring three runs in the top of the first. Aliyah Wade, who reached first on an error, advanced to third on a wild pitch, where she would later cross home on Katie Falotico's RBI double. A pair of walks then loaded the bases, setting up Kelly Spear's RBI sacrifice fly. Kelly Barkevich rounded out the scoring with an RBI sacrifice fly to plate Sarah Petzold.
UAlbany extended their lead to 4-0 in the top of the third, when Love Drumgole walked, stole second and scored on a groundball by Falotico.
The Mount sent a three-run shot over the fence in the bottom of third inning to cut the difference to one. A five-run fourth frame broke the game open for the Mount who took an 8-4 advantage. The home team earned its final run in the sixth inning with an RBI single.
Game Two:
In the nightcap, Drexel logged the first four runs of the game. The Dragons put up a crooked number in the first inning behind an RBI double and a two-run homerun that gave the team a 3-0 lead. The home team took advantage of a Great Danes mishap in the third, plating an unearned run.
The Great Danes battled back in the fourth with an RBI double Chelsea Henige and an infield single by Sarah Petzold to cut the difference to 4-2. Later in that same at-bat Falotico scored on a pass ball before Amelia Ely stepped in with two outs and drove home a pair of runs.
The two teams would exchange runs in the fifth, but it was UAlbany who would regain the lead for good, in the tip of the sixth with the help of a Falotico RBI single to seal the 6-5 decision.
Celeste Verdolivo pitched 2.2 innings of relief to pick up her fourth win of the season, retiring nine batters along the way.
Up Next: The Great Danes conclude the Hampton Blue and White Classic with a 12:30 p.m. contest against host school Norfolk State.
