The College of Staten Island women’s softball squad kept their perfect CUNYAC record intact, getting by Hunter College as part of conference play at Queens College with a doubleheader sweep. CSI won the opener, 10-0, on a no-hitter by Jacqueline Cautela, and then scored a 7-2 win in the second game. With the pair of victories, CSI improved to 12-6 overall and 8-0 in the CUNYAC, while Hunter dipped to 9-10, 6-2, respectively.
In the opener, CSI rode the right arm of Jacqueline Cautela, as the freshman ace silenced the Hawks, scoring the no-hit shutout in the five-inning shortened affair. The Dolphins jumped on top early, scoring four runs in the first inning before Hunter came to the plate off of Hunter pitcher Erika Colangelo. A Stefanie Solari double scored Cautela for the game’s first run, Solari and Victoria Procopio would come in to score on a Hawks error after Procopio singled, and later, Christina Tufano would come around to score after notching a double, then advancing to third and walking home via a balk.
CSI added to the lead in the second frame when Solari hit CSI’s first homerun of the season, scoring Cautela to make it 6-0. Helped along by another Hunter error, CSI scored three more runs in the third, highlighted a Alyssa Setteducato single and a two-run double by none other than Solari, who finished the opener 3-4 with five RBI and three runs scored. That proved more than enough for Cautela, who allowed only a single walk next to five strikeouts for the win, her eighth of the season.
The second game went the distance, but CSI answered a Hunter flurry with a strong final three innings to take a 7-2 win. The Dolphins went up, 3-0, after the top half of the third inning. Chyanne Gilliam doubled home Setteducato for the game’s first run. Later in the frame, pitcher Procopio helped her own cause, smacking a two-run double off of Hunter starter Sara Beck to make it 3-0. The Hawks countered, however, in their turn of the third. With the bases loaded and two outs, a CSI costly error scored a pair of runs, making it 3-2.
From there, CSI added insurance. In the fifth inning, Cautela scored on a Procopio single, and the Dolphins added two more markers in the sixth, helped by three Hunter College errors, part of seven in game two by the home Hawks. The Dolphins added a punctuation mark in the seventh inning to make the 7-2 final stand. Procopio went the distance for CSI, getting the win, allowing just two runs (none earned) on six hits, and fanning a pair. Beck was the hard luck loser for Hunter. The sophomore saw all seven runs cross unearned, yielding 10 hits while fanning three.
CSI has four CUNYAC regular season games remaining (doubleheaders against Baruch College and York College). CSI need win two of those remaining four games to clinch the CUNYAC Regular Season Championship and the top seed in the upcoming CUNYAC Postseason Championship Tournament. The seeding is important, as the top two seeds in the tournament receive a first round bye.
CSI is back in action on Wednesday, April 16, when they travel to face Farmingdale State College for a 3:30pm doubleheader.
