Kissimmee, FL | In their final appearance of The Spring Games, CSI dropped a pair to Albright and Plattsburgh State. The Dolphins came up a run short against the Lions, losing 7-6. CSI suffered a much larger defeat at the hands of the Cardinals, falling 14-2. With the pair of losses, CSI ends the Florida trip winless at 0-8. Albright improves to 3-2 while Plattsburgh State is off to a 3-1 start.
Game 1 | Albright College 7, Staten Island 6
In CSI’s early-morning meeting with the Lions, both teams filled up the scorecard at the plate, combining for 13 runs and 24 hits. It was Albright that got in the run column first with a pair in the top of the opening inning, but the Dolphins would respond with their best inning of the Florida trip in the bottom-half. CSI struck for 5 runs on 4 hits while sending nine batters to the plate, highlighted by a Patricia Riches triple and Erica Olsen double, both of which plated two. Trailing 5-2 after one, the Lions chipped away over the next the next two innings, scoring two in the second and one in the third to tie the game at five. CSI took the lead back in the the fourth on a Sierra Kaplanek double, but two runs in the top of the sixth put Albright in front, 7-6. CSI would threaten in the seventh where a lead-off double by Kaplanek got things started. She was advanced to third on a groundout, but was ultimately stranded there as the Dolphins lost a heart-breaker, 7-6.
In a first inning dominated by hitting, the Lions struck first against Jaclyn Kateridge. A lead-off double and steal of third set up the Lions early, but a pair of weakly hit grounders forced the runner to stay put with two away. From there, the Lions would string together three straight singles to bring home two, sending the game into the bottom of the first with a score of 2-0.
Trailing 2-0, the Dolphins came storming out of the gate in their first turn at-bat. Kateridge led things off with a single and was advanced on a sacrifice. From there, six consecutive Dolphins reached base behind a Riches triple, hit batter, MacPherson single, Olsen double and two walks. The Riches triple and Olsen double each plated a pair while the MacPherson single drove in another. This gave CSI a 5-2 lead after one, but that lead was immediately in jeopardy in the second.
A pair of Lions’ singles and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases against Kateridge who then went on to induce an infield fly and a foul out. However, she couldn’t escape the jam unscathed and allowed a two-out, two-RBI single to Camille Sears which brought Albright back to within a run. The Lions would add one more in the third on a Kaitlyn Chell solo home-run to tie the score at 5-5.
The Dolphins answered right back in the fourth and brought home their sixth run of the game on a Kaplanek double, scoring Riches from second. In the next half-inning, the Lions threatened to take the lead and had runners on second and third with only one out, but Riches turned an unassisted double-play on a line-drive to close the door on the scoring opportunity.
CSI held on to their lead through the fifth, but Albright was able to take the lead back for the first time since the opening inning in the sixth. Back-to-back hits, a single and triple, scored the first Lions’ run before a sacrifice fly brought home the go-ahead run to make it 7-6. The Dolphins had a chance to tie the game in the next half-inning as a Lions error and sacrifice bunt provided Riches an opportunity to draw CSI even with a clutch base-hit. Riches came through with the single, but Jaclyn Kateridge was thrown out trying to score from second base.
With their last opportunity to get even, or potentially win the game, in the seventh, the Dolphins got a leadoff double by Kaplanek who was advanced on a groundout. However, CSI could not bring her home and lost by a single run, 7-6. Kateridge was the losing pitcher for the Dolphins surrendering 7 runs and 14 hits through seven. Lions starter Lynsey Grant was chased from the game after recording only one out and allowing 4 runs and 5 hits while walking 2. She was picked up by Allison Melahn who earned the win, throwing 6.2 innings and allowing only one run on six hits. Kaplanek, Kateridge, and Riches all contributed multiple hits for CSI while Kaitlyn Chell led the way at the plate for Albright with three hits of her own including a home-run.
Game 2 | Plattsburgh State 14, Staten Island 2
With one final chance to pick up a win in The Spring Games, the Dolphins took the field for a matchup with Plattsburgh State 30 minutes earlier than expected at 12:15, just minutes after the conclusion of their game against Albright. The Cardinals ran away with the game early, scoring six in the second off Kateridge who was once again in the circle for the Dolphins. CSI never got back into the game tallying lone runs in the fourth and fifth. Plattsburgh would go on to add two more in the fourth and another sixth in the fifth on their way to a huge 14-2 victory.
In a difficult spot, with only minutes in between games, Kateridge was back in the circle for the Dolphins in this matchup with the Cardinals after pitching seven innings against Albright. She put up a zero in the first, but labored through the second, allowing six runs.
Leading 6-0, Plattsburgh extended their lead to 8-0 in the fourth. CSI would score a single run in the bottom-half of that inning on an Erica Olsen RBI-single. In the next half-inning, the Cardinals added six more of their own off of Vanessa Porto, who came on in relief of Kateridge to start the third. This saw the lead balloon to 14-1 entering the bottom of the fifth. It was here that Kaplanek gave the Dolphins a momentary cause for celebration as she drove her first career home-run over the left-center field wall. This finalized the scoring in a 14-2 victory for Plattsburgh State.
With the defeat, Kateridge fell to 0-7, but she pitched far better throughout the trip than her record indicates. In this particular game, the Dolphins committed 7 errors, tying a school record set in April of 2007 vs Centenary. Also, only 24 of the 38 runs Kateridge has allowed thus far have been earned. For the Cardinals, Elliana Bowlen earned her first win. The Dolphins matched the Cardinals hit total of 10, but could not overcome their miscues in the field. With the loss, CSI closes The Spring Games winless at 0-8 and with the lop-sided victory Plattsburgh improves to 3-1.
The Dolphins return to Staten Island for their home-opener this Thursday March 21 against Mount Saint Vincent. The front half of that doubleheader is scheduled for a 4:30 PM start.
