The Saint Michael’s College softball team went 1-5 last week in Clermont, Fla., while finishing up Spring Break at The Spring Games.
On Monday, the Purple Knights lost to Post University, 2-0, and Mercy (N.Y.) College, 6-4. Saint Thomas Aquinas (N.Y.) College took a 4-0 victory on Wednesday before the Purple Knights fell short against Edinboro (Pa.) University, 1-0. During the Purple and Gold’s final day on Thursday, it lost 4-1 to Northwood (Mich.) College before grasping a 3-0 victory over Jefferson (Pa.) University.
Senior Danielle Brown (Vergennes, Vt./Vergennes Union) was the hard-luck loser against Post, allowing only two unearned runs in the first inning before not allowing a hit to the final 19 batters. She settled for the two-hitter, striking out nine and walking two. Junior Fallon Tierney (Reading, Mass./Reading Memorial) was 2-for-3, and senior Hannah St. Don (Lakeville, Mass./Sacred Heart) doubled and walked in three plate appearances.
Tierney finished 2-for-4 with two runs in the nightcap against Mercy, junior Hayley Craddock (Campbell River, British Columbia/Carihi Secondary School/Highline) was 2-for-4 with a run and two doubles, while sophomore Danielle Markowski (Ellington, Conn./Ellington) went 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Classmate Torie Rathwell (Guilderland, N.Y./Guilderland) was also 2-for-4 with an RBI and a double, while sophomore Katie Terban (Georgetown, Mass./Saint Mary’s) had a hit and walked. Brown worked another complete game, yielding four earned runs while striking out eight and walking two.
Craddock was 2-for-3 against Saint Thomas Aquinas, while Tierney socked a double. Rathwell suffered the loss after allowing all four runs, with three earned, on seven hits in 5.1 innings. She struck out three and walked two. Brown retired all five batters she faced in relief, including three on strikes. Brown was the hard-luck loser against Edinboro, allowing an unearned run on five hits while striking out a career-high 12 batters for the second time in three days. She walked only two. Craddock had a hit and stolen base.
Craddock finished 2-for-4 against Northwood, senior Chandler Wilder (Beverly, Mass./Bishop Fenwick) was 1-for-2 with a walk, and sophomore Julia Sevigny (Rocky Hill, Conn./Rocky Hill) slugged a double. Classmate Sarah Wight (Hingham, Mass./Hingham) had her first college hit, and Rathwell took the complete-game loss after allowing four runs on 10 hits. She struck out and walked two.
In the nightcap against Jefferson, Brown faced just two batters over the minimum while carrying a perfect game into the fifth inning. The one hit she allowed was a clean double, as she fanned nine while tying Kara McManus ‘02 for second in program history in career shutouts (6) and matching SMC Athletic Hall of Famer Marybeth Sonski Marquardt ‘80 for fourth in wins (14). The Purple Knights downed Jefferson, the former Philadelphia University, for the first time in seven meetings, all coming in Clermont since 2009. Rathwell finished 3-for-3 with two doubles and an RBI, while Tierney was 1-for-2 with an RBI and a walk.
Brown is not only among the top five in program history in wins and shutouts, but also strikeouts, standing second (388). She is fourth in innings pitched (418.2) and fifth in complete games (40). Wilder pushed her career sacrifice hits total to 21, moving into seventh in program annals.