The Division III St. Joseph (Brooklyn) Softball team finally jumped off its five-game schneid, posting 7-3 and 14-3 victories over FDU-Florham (7-9) Sunday in Madison, N.J.
The Bears (11-6) quickly took command of game two, as they scored four in the first and exploded for seven in the second for an 11-0 lead.
Sophomore Arianna Heinsch drove in three runs in the seven-run second, leading off the inning with a solo blast and later knocking in a two-run double. It was her first collegiate home run.
Sophomore Autumn Poppett launched a two-run dinger in the third, highlighting a 3-for-3 contest in the batter’s box with three RBI and three runs scored. Senior Ashleigh Hartwig (3 R, 2 RBI) and Heinsch (3 RBI, 2 R) both finished 2-for-3 with a double and combined for five RBI and five runs.
Sophomore Brianna Kilimet (2-1) pitched three frames of three-run ball for her second win of the season.
In game one, senior Alexis Buchanan became the 18th player in St. Joseph’s College history and second in the team’s Skyline Conference era to join the 100-hit club with a two-out single. She later crossed the plate after Hartwig doubled her in from second.
Senior Vivian Tomovich opened the scoring with a RBI single. Poppett stole home in a double steal and junior Maeve McKeon brought home Tomovich with a double.
The Bears tacked on another three runs in the sixth after Poppett and Tomovich led off with consecutive singles and McKeon brought them both home with her second-straight double and later crossed the plate on a Devil miscue for a 7-1 advantage.
Staten Island’s New Dorp High School product Gabriella Salvador, a senior, kept the hosts at bay after the early unearned run, tossing five straight scoreless innings before FDU-Florham got two back in the seventh. But Salvador went the distance for her first complete-game win and improved to 1-0. She scattered nine hits with one walk, allowing two earned runs while striking out two.
— Jerry Del Priore
Photo: St. Joseph (Brooklyn) Athletics — Senior Alexis Buchanan.
Brooklyn Sports World/NY NJ Sports World 