CANTON, N.Y.—SUNY Canton (9-18) defeated the SUNY Potsdam softball team (0-29) in two close contests on Tuesday afternoon. The Kangaroos took game one 4-2 and game two 7-6. The Bears honored senior second baseman
Vanessa Brandt (Saugerties, N.Y./Saugerties) and senior catcher
Hailey LaGiudice (Mount Sinai, N.Y./Mount Sinai) for their careers in between the games.
Canton junior second baseman Sophia Padilla-Gunderson (Bethpage, N.Y./Bayside) opened the scoring in the with an RBI single to left in the top of the first. Bears junior first baseman
Anna Grottola (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Connetquot) walked, stole second and then came around to score to tie the game in the bottom of the first on a ground out from senior second baseman
Vanessa Brandt (Saugerties, N.Y./Saugerties).
Canton scored its other three runs in the top of the third on a double from senior pitcher Kayla Chavarri (Pawling, N.Y./Pawling) and singles from Padilla-Gunderson and senior third baseman Selena Tasli (Shirley, N.Y./Longwood) to make it 4-1. The Bears scored the final run of the game in the bottom of the fifth as junior third baseman
Madison McCormick (Ogdensburg, N.Y./Heuvelton) drove in sophomore pitcher
Anna Brown (Ellenburg Depot, N.Y./Northern Adirondack) with a sacrifice fly.
Brown (0-15) had a solid outing for Potsdam. She allowed the four runs on nine hits and struck out a career-high eight hitters. Chavarri (5-9) allowed just the two runs on five hits for the win.
Canton senior shortstop Sophia Harris (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool) was 2-for-4. Roos senior catcher Mackenzie Currie (Henrietta, N.Y./Rush-Henrietta) was 1-for-2 with two walks and two runs. Senior first baseman Jordan Knapp (Queensbury, N.Y./Queensbury) was 2-for-4 with a run and Padilla-Gunderson was also 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI. Brown was a perfect 3-for-3 for the Bears with a run scored.
The Roos jumped on Potsdam for three runs in the top of the first in the second game. Knapp drove in Harris with a single to left. Chavarri followed with a double to right field that plated Knapp and Currie. Senior left fielder Madison Austin (Nicholville, N.Y./St. Regis Falls) brought in senior right fielder Alexandria Mikula (Trumansburg, N.Y./Charles O. Dickerson) with a sacrifice fly to make it 4-0 in the top of the second. Canton scored its final three runs in the third on a single from Mikula, a double from Tasli and a wild pitch. Grottola scored the Bears' first run on an error in the bottom of the third
Potsdam's bats finally came alive in the bottom of the fifth as the Bears rallied for four runs on four hits. Freshman shortstop
Kaylee Dobransky (New Britain, Conn./CREC Academy of Science and Innovation) drove in Grottola and sophomore left fielder
Hope Sandor (North Salem, N.Y./North Salem) with a single to left. Brandt and freshman centerfielder
Danielle Moscarello (Arlington, Vt./Mount Anthony Union) followed with RBIs on ground outs and Potsdam trailed just 7-5. Dobransky then drove in Grottola in the bottom of the sixth to close the gap to one. With the tying and go ahead runs on base, Canton senior pitcher Alaina Beane (Munnsville, N.Y./Stockbridge Valley) finally notched a strikeout to end the threat.
Senior
Sierra Ashley (Ogdensburg, N.Y./Lisbon) (0-14) allowed six earned runs on 10 hits in three innings pitched. Sophomore
Rebecca Holmes (Lawtons, N.Y./North Collins) was brilliant in relief, throwing four no-hit and shutout innings, while striking out three. Beane (4-9) was great in the first three innings, allowing just an unearned run on two hits in the first four innings. She was then roughed up for five earned runs on six hits in the last three innings.
Harris was 2-for-3 with a run and a walk for Canton. Knapp was 1-for-4 with a run and one RBI. Chavarri was 1-for-4 with two RBI and Tasli was 1-for-1 with one RBI and two Walks. Grottola was 3-for-4 with three runs and Dobransky was 3-for-4 with a run and three RBI.
Potsdam hits the road for its final two nonconference contests tomorrow. The Bears face SUNY Poly at 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. in Utica.
