POSTGAME – GAME VIDEO – The College of Staten Island softball won their fifth straight game this afternoon with a pair of wins against Stockton University in a non-conference twin bill.  The Dolphins continue rolling and improve to 9-3 with the 3-0 and 2-1 wins over the Osprey’s. 
 
Game 1: Staten Island 3, Stockton University 0
 
Jacqueline Cautela got the start in the circle for tonight’s opening contest against the Osprey’s and continued to pitch lights out.  Cautela came into tonight’s game 4-0 with a 0.26 ERA and improved that to 5-0 with a 0.21 ERA after shutting out Stockton and allowing just four hits.
 
Staten Island stepped out onto their home diamond for the first time this evening and put on a show for their home crowd. In their first appearance at home the Dolphins continued where they left off against Lehman.  The women brought their bats and used them effectively against Stockton’s top pitchers.
 
The Dolphins used a two-run second inning to get on top of Stockton and never look back. Vanessa Jioia rifled a shot to left center to get things in motion for the Dolphins. Kristy Colangelo would confuse the infield as she would bunt and reach safely as none of the infield was playing in. Ashley Notaro would reach on a fielder’s choice as Jioia was thrown out a third.  Jamie Holmes would pick up the second out for the Dolphins, which really ignited the Dolphins as they would score their two runs with two outs on the board.  Nicolette Trapani would load the bases with a single to left field.  With the bases loaded Julianna Cretella would come to the plate with one thing on her mind, drive in a run.  Cretella would do just that as she would hit an infield single to the shortstop and beat out the throw which allowed Colangelo to cross home plate.  On that same play, the first baseman would miss the throw and allow another run to come across for the Dolphins.
 
CSI capitalized on defensive miscues by the Osprey’s which allowed them to score two runs in the bottom of the second inning.  The Dolphins were not done scoring however, as they would go on to score an insurance run in the third inning to take a 3-0 lead.  After Antoinette Galbo and CUNYAC/ECAC/FPN Rookie of the Week, Patricia Riches reached via singles, they would pull off a double steal and both reach safely.  Colangelo continued to have a solid game and drove in the third run on a sacrifice fly to left field to bring home Galbo.
 
CSI’s defense was outstanding and it started with the infield play.  Galbo made a highlight diving grab at second base to which kept the Osprey’s off of the board.  That play fired up the rest of the team and the outfielder’s matched the infielder’s intensity as they attacked every fly ball and made sure it never touched the turf.
 
Cretella finished the first game 2-for-2 with an RBI while Colangelo finished 1-for-2 with an RBI and a run.
 
Game 2: Staten Island 2, Stockton University 1
 
Nicolette Trapani bumped her record up to 3-2 on the year after a 2-1 victory in the second game of the doubleheader tonight.  Trapani kept Stockton’s batters guessing and allowed just two hits all game as she forced the batter to hit right at her teammates.
 
The second game took longer than the first to get going as the first run of the game did not come until the fourth inning, where once again it was the Dolphins recording a two-run stanza.
Riches would reach first base via four balls then move all the way to third base on a sacrifice bunt by Jioia. Colangelo’s night continued to get better as she crushed a pitch to the center field wall to bring home Riches from third only to replace her with a triple of her own.  Colangelo would not be stranded on third for long as Notaro would ground one right under an outstretched Petrovich to score Colangelo.
 
The Dolphins would remain scoreless for the rest of the game however the Osprey’s were not ready to be shutout for a second straight game.  In the seventh inning the Osprey’s were able to score their lone run with two outs on the board.  With two outs Riches would gather a routine ground ball and rifle it over to Kristen Meagher who mishandled the ball allowing the batter to reach first safely and score the runner on third.  Meagher would not make that mistake again as the next batter hit a grounder to Galbo who tossed it over to Meagher who corralled it with two hands this time to seal the deal and pick up their fifth straight win.
 
Colangelo finished 1-for-2 with an RBI and a run in game two while Notaro also finished 1-for-2 with an RBI.
 
The Dolphins will return to action on Saturday, April 1 when they host Brooklyn College in a CUNYAC match-up at the CSI Softball Complex at 12:00 pm.