Softball | Hawks go 2-1 in Under Armour Showcase tournament

For their Spring Break, the Saint Joseph’s softball team spent a week in Clearwater, FL.  After playing various opponents, they ended the week by participating in the University of Southern Florida Under Armour Showcase. Overall, the Hawks finished with two wins in five games on the week.

The Hawks (8-6) started out Tuesday with a match-up against the University of South Florida (USF). Unfortunately, they could not hold onto the lead, dropping the game by a score of 4-5.

The game started out well for St. Joe’s, as they knocked in two runs in the first inning. Brooke Darreff, ’10, doubled to open up the offense, and Monica Aguilar, ’12, scored later on a USF error to give the Hawks two early runs.

Not to be outdone, USF (8-7) came right back to score three unanswered runs over the next two innings. Pitcher Taryn Ashway, ’13, left after giving up the third run of the day in the third inning, giving way to Erin Gallagher, ’12, who relieved Ashway for the rest of the game, allowing only two earned runs in 4.2 innings.

Despite Gallagher’s effort, the Hawks were only able to produce two more runs in the game, an RBI single by Rochelle Christman, ’13, in the fifth inning, and another RBI single by Taylor Korpita, ’11, in the sixth inning. USF, however, was able to add one last run in the sixth inning, taking the game by a score of 5-4.

On Wednesday, the Hawks went on to face Penn State. A big inning by the Nittany Lions, however, left St. Joe’s on the wrong end of a 4-3 score.

After the Lions (17-7) scored a first inning run off Gallagher, the Hawks tacked their first run of the game on an RBI single by Alaina Louguidice, ’12, in the bottom of the second inning. The score remained tied at one when Penn State added another run off Gallagher in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Trouble came for the Hawks in the sixth inning when the Lions were able to put together a string of hits that gave them four more runs. Gallagher left with one out in the sixth inning, ending the day with six runs, four of them earned. St. Joe’s was able to add two more runs in the game, one by Christman when she stole home in the sixth inning, and another off a throwing error in the seventh, but it was not enough to beat Penn State as they fell by a score of 6-3.

With the two losses behind them, St. Joe’s entered the Under Armour Showcase looking to change their ways. By Sunday afternoon they had, winning two out of three games to notch a winning record in the tournament.

After being rained out Friday, the Hawks took on Boston University on the first day of the tournament, winning by a score of 4-1.

After two quiet innings, the Hawk offense exploded in the third inning for four runs. An Aguilar single gave the Hawks their first run of the day, and soon after the Hawks added two more runs on a 2 RBI double by Darreff. Korpita added to the offense with a solo homer in the fourth inning.

On top of this, the St. Joe’s pitching staff got into an excellent groove. Gallagher threw four innings of one-run softball against the Terriers (5-9), followed by three shutout innings from Ashway. These efforts combined with the Hawk’s offensive burst sealed the 4-1 victory for St. Joe’s.

The Hawks continued their victorious momentum into Saturday with a 4-3 victory in eight innings.

After three and a half innings, the Black Bears (10-17) found themselves up 3-0. In the bottom of the fourth, however, things got rolling for St. Joe’s. A single by Christman drove in the first run of the game, which was shortly followed by an RBI single by Bernadette Moran, ’12. Later in the inning, Moran was able to score on a double steal when the Black Bears attempted to throw out Korpita, who was on her way to second. By the time the fourth inning was over, the Hawks had tied the game by a score of 3-3.

Thanks once again to the pitching tandem of Ashway and Gallagher, the Hawks kept the game tied at three into extra innings. In the bottom of the eighth, Laura Cardone, ’11, was able to drive in the winning run with an RBI single, allowing the Hawks to win by a score of 4-3. Ashway started the game, throwing three innings while allowing two runs on five hits, while Gallagher finished the game with five innings, allowing a run on three hits.

On the final day of the Under Armour Showcase, the Hawks could not find a way to preserve their momentum against New Mexico State. After keeping the game tied into the eighth inning, the Aggies (15-9) were able to score the winning run, sealing a 4-3 victory.

Up next for the Hawks is a doubleheader against city rival University of Pennsylvania this afternoon.