SOLARI SHOT POWERS CSI PAST OLD WESTBURY; PANTHERS TAKE GAME TWO

The College of Staten Island women’s softball squad split an afternoon, non-conference, doubleheader today, clipping SUNY – Old Westbury in the opener 2-0, then falling to the Panthers, 12-1, at the CSI Softball Complex.  CSI went to 19-10 on the season, while the Panthers leveled to 16-16.

For all the offense one needed, one need only use the first frame in the opener.  After CSI’s Victoria Procopio retired Old Westbury for the first of seven innings without surrendering a point, the Dolphins got on the board.  After Panthers starter Alyssa Clancy registered an out, Procopio helped her own cause with a line drive single up the middle.  CSI junior Stefanie Solari, and the first baseman pounced on a Clancy pitch and rocketed a shot that cleared the left field wall by 20+ feet, and CSI had the 2-0 lead that would ultimately hold up.

Old Westbury left two runners on base in each of the next two innings before Procopio worked her way out of jams, but from there, the Panthers yielded only one base runner, as the Dolphins posted their second seven-inning shutout of the season.

Procopio earned the win by going seven frames, allowing just four hits while striking out three.  Solari would finish 2-3 in the game with the two RBI.

As tough as it was in the opener for OW to score, the runs came easier in the second, as the visitors built a 3-0 lead in the first frame alone off of CSI starter Brittany Smith.  A Jacqui Alvarado double plated the first run.  Then a CSI infield error would help cross another pair to make it 3-0.

Clancy, who made her second straight start kept CSI at bay from there, holding the Dolphins scoreless while OW added a single digit in the fourth, and then three more in the fifth to make it 7-0.  A Samantha Howley two-RBI double did the damage in the fifth.

CSI got their lone run in the bottom of the fifth, when Smith scored a sac fly to plate Chyanne Gilliam, who started the frame with a triple.

But OW’s offense was up to the task in the second game, and scored another five runs in the sixth to end the game early.  CSI had another two errors in the frame, part of four on the game.

Smith took the loss, allowing 12 runs (9 earned) on 18 hits.  Clancy tossed a six-hitter, allowing the lone run while fanning one.  

CSI is back in action tomorrow afternoon at 1pm, when they travel to FDU-Florham for another non-conference doubleheader.