Stefanie Solari had a great doubleheader, going 4-9 with 4 RBI, a homerun, and five runs scored
The College of Staten Island women’s softball team swept their way through their CUNYAC finale over Lehman College, winning by scores of 18-11 and 19-3 at South Field in the Bronx, New York. The pair of wins lifted CSI to 18-9 overall, and their 11-1 record will clinch for them one of the top two seeds in the upcoming CUNYAC Postseason Tournament, which carries an opening round bye and a free pass to the double elimination round of the tourney. Lehman fell to 4-21, 2-8, respectively.
In the opener, an eventful first inning opened things up. An RBI-single by Stefanie Solari and a two-RBI double by Christina Tufano helped CSI open up a 4-0 lead after half of a frame, but four CSI errors in Lehman’s turn up at bat in the first inning, helped the Lightning take a 5-4 lead. CSI tied the game an inning later on a Victoria Procopio sac fly that scored Alissa Setteducato, and took the lead for good in the third thanks to a trio of hits and three Lehman errors, part of a combined 12 errors by both teams in the opener.
An RBI-groundout by Tufano gave CSI a 9-5 lead in the fourth frame, and in the fifth, CSI added another trio of runs highlighted by another RBI-single by Tufano and another by Danielle Locke. Procopio, who was the game’s winning pitcher, added an RBI-double in the sixth to help CSI take a commanding 14-5 lead in the sixth, but Lehman charged back again, this time by way of a six-run sixth inning, where they spread out seven hits. Down to the final inning, CSI got four big insurance markers, guided by another pair of LC errors and a Solari double.
Procopio earned the complete game win, allowing 11 runs (eight earned) on 13 hits, fanning two. Procopio, Solari and Tufano all finished with three hits.
In the second game, CSI needed just five innings of work to do 19 runs and 20 hits worth of damage. The Dolphins exploded for seven runs in the first frame, with LC helping the cause with four errors. Solari got things started with a two-run homer, and Maxine Jasko followed with another. A two-RBI single by Setteducato also guided things. CSI starter Brittany Smith yielded two Lightning runs in the first, but CSI responded with another seven runs in the second inning, tallying another seven hits. The Dolphins added another five runs in the third to put the game completely out of reach.
Smith tossed all five innings in the win, allowing three runs on six hits, fanning two. CSI spread out 20 hits, including four each from Procopio and Tufano.
CSI finalizes the CUNYAC portion of their season with an 11-1 record, good for a first place tie with Baruch College atop the standings. As of press time, the regular season CUNYAC Champion will likely be determined by a coin flip, as the teams have multiple tie-breakers also split. Regardless of that, six teams advance to the tournament, with the top two teams receiving byes and going directly into double-elimination play on Friday, May 3, at CSI.
CSI will return to action this coming Thursday, when they face national-power Montclair State University at the CSI Softball Complex at 3:00pm.
