JERSEY CITY, N.J. (April 13, 2022) - Playing in front of the home crowd at Joseph J. Jaroschak Field for just the third doubleheader of the season, freshmen Nicole Antuna, Dakota Pitts and Kasidy Slusser were fantastic in the circle and at the plate, respectively, to lead the Saint Peter's University softball team to a doubleheader sweep of Coppin State University Wednesday, taking game one 2-1 and the second contest 8-2.
Top Performers
- Antuna pitched the best game of her young collegiate career in the first contest of the day coming on in relief of Kristen Brennan as she did not allow a hit over 4.0 innings and faced just two over the minimum to pick up her second career victory. She also reached on an infield single at the plate to register her first collegiate hit.Â
- Brennan was solid in the circle in the contest as well, allowing a single run on four hits with a pair of strikeouts in 3.0 innings.
- Pitts delivered the big blow in game two in the bottom of the first inning with a three-run bomb over the fence in left center for her first collegiate home run. She finished the doubleheader 2 for 5 with a home run, two runs scored and four RBIs, driving in the eventual game-winning run in both contests.
- Slusser picked up the victory in the circle in game two tossing 6.0 innings and allowing just one run on five hits while allowing a single walk.
- Sophie Wilson also had a strong day at the plate going 2 for 3 in the first contest and also scored a run in the second game.
- Cara McNulty had the exact same batting line in both games finishing 1 for 3 with an RBI.
- Katie Sciglimpaglia, Pitts, Samantha Miller and Aubrey Ketcham all had multi-hit efforts in the second game of the day combining for eight of the Peacocks' 10 hits.
How it Happened (Game One)
- The Peacocks jumped ahead early in the opening contest when Sciglimpaglia laced a one-out triple to start a rally in the bottom of the first inning.
- McNulty would single up the middle to bring home Sciglimpaglia and then advanced to third on another single, this one off the bat of Wilson to put runners at the corners.
- Pitts would step in next and lift a fly ball into right field for a sacrifice fly and an RBI to put SPU on top 2-0 heading into the second inning.
- The Eagles scratched one across of their own in the top of the third thanks to back-to-back doubles, but Brennan limited the damage as she got a fly out and a pop out to strand a runner at third to end the inning.
- From there, Antuna took over and was dominant, not allowing a runner past second base over the final four frames to pick up the 2-1 victory for the Peacocks.
How it Happened (Game Two)
- It was Coppin State who took the lead first in the second contest as they led the game off with back-to-back singles.
- Slusser limited the damage, however, getting three straight flyouts, the second of which resulted in a sac fly and a 1-0 Eagle lead, to end the inning.
- In the bottom half, Sciglimpaglia again started the rally with a one-out single and moved up to second when Wilson reached on an error with two outs.
- With two runners on, Pitts stepped to the plate and roped the first pitch she saw over the wall in left center to score three and put the Peacocks on top 3-1.
- SPU continued to tack on in the second, this time fueled by a one-out double off the bat and a single to right from Aubrey Ketcham.
- After Ketcham swiped second to put a pair in scoring position, Olyvia Smith brought home a run on an RBI groundout and Sciglimpaglia added another with an RBI single through the left side to push the lead to 5-1.
- The score remained the same until the bottom of the fifth when McNulty singled home Ketcham who had led the inning off with a double to make the lead five.
- One inning later, the Peacocks nearly completed the game in six innings via run rule with a big two-out rally.
- With Pitts at first after a one-out single, Anja Solveig Kane stepped in and laced a ball down the left field line for a double and subsequently came home thanks to an RBI single up the middle from Miller to make the score 8-1.
- The top of the seventh saw the Eagles get one back on an RBI single, but Taylor Rondon closed the door with a strikeout to end the game and give the Peacocks the doubleheader sweep.
Inside the Numbers
- The doubleheader sweep was the first for SPU since earning back-to-back sweeps of South Carolina State on March 7-8.
- The wins were the first two at Jaroschak Field for the Peacocks this season.
- Slusser picked up her fifth victory of the season in the circle, the most for an SPU pitcher since Erica Colon had five in the 2014 season while also lowering her ERA to a team-best 2.92
- With hits in both games of the doubleheader, Sciglimpaglia has now hit safely in eight of her last 11 games. In that stretch, she is hitting .333 (11 for 33) with six runs scored, a double, a triple and four RBI.
- McNulty is now hitting .380 this season and is up over the 20 RBI mark, the first Peacocks to do so since Alina Guevara and Theamaris Ramirez did so in 2019.
- After starting the season with one hit in her first 17 at bats, Miller now has three hits in her last eight plate appearances, collecting her third career double in game two.
From the Dugout (Head Coach Chris Stelma)
- "What a wonderful day at the Shcak celebrating inclusion and playing ball. Our sport of softball really is wonderful and is a great way to showcase and celebrate inclusion."
- "We had fantastic starting pitching from Kristen Brennan and Kas Slusser and Nikki Antuna was absolutely lights out. We closed the day down with a solid inning out of Taylor Rondon."
- "We have worked hard to remember to support every member of our team and be a true family. No better day to do so than a day celebrating a cause or movement that is bigger than just us."
Next Up
- The Peacocks will hit the road once again this Saturday when they travel to Fairfield, Ct., to take on Fairfield in a MAAC doubleheader starting at 12:00 p.m.
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