Press Releases

April 8, 2002
Southampton College Softball Team Gets First-Ever Northeast Ranking

Putting Hits and Runs Together in Cinderella Season

Contact:
Darren Johnson (PR@southampton.liu.edu)
(631) 287 8313
Fax: (631) 283 4081

The Southampton College softball team was ranked in the Northeast Region's top 10 for the first time ever on April 3, according to the official, biweekly NCAA Division II committee poll.

After a tough start to the season and an injury to the team's pitching ace, the Lady Colonials have regrouped with quality wins in a tough league. A spring break non-league tournament in Florida against some of the country's top teams had started the season at 1-9 for the Colonials, but they have gone 6-4 since then, including an upset at Adelphi on April 4. The Panthers (17-6, 11-1) have otherwise been undefeated in league play.

After losing 2-0 in the first game of the doubleheader at Adelphi, the Lady Colonials stormed to victory in the nightcap 5-1. Freshman Marisa Carroll collected her first collegiate win, pitching a four-hitter. She allowed only one earned run over 5 1/3 innings with one strikeout. She is the sister of pitching ace and junior captain Kim Carroll, who has been sidelined with a stress fracture.

Sophomore fireballer Shayma Hill finished the last 1 2/3 innings to preserve the win. Erin Molloy (2-3, 2 RBI) had an RBI double and Allison Hoyt (1-4, 2 RBI) had a two-run double in the bottom of the seventh inning for the Colonials. Sophomore Stephanie Valentinetti went 3-4 with one run scored on the day.

On Saturday, April 6, the Lady Colonials stretched their win streak to three games with a doubleheader sweep of Bridgeport. Hill went the distance in game one, giving up five hits while collecting three strikeouts in seven shutout innings in the 6-0 victory. Hill also collected 2 RBI in the game. Sophomore Erin Molloy went 2-3 for the game with an RBI and a run scored.

In the nightcap, Southampton held on for a 5-4 win in 10 innings. Sophomore pitcher Allison Hoyt started the game, going four strong innings while giving up only three hits and no earned runs. She also collected three strikeouts. Marisa Carroll pitched two innings of relief, surrendering only one hit and striking out two. Hill pitched the remaining three innings to collect her second win on the day.

With Southampton trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the seventh, sophomore Rosie Zollo hit a hard ground ball that Bridgeport couldn't handle, pushing sophomore Virginia McGovern across the plate for the tying run. Bridgeport scored in the bottom of the 10th, but Southampton answered back. McGovern stroked an RBI single to drive in Zollo and tie the score at four. Senior Robin Owens' hard grounder then allowed junior Jen Maiorini to score the winning run. The Colonials are now 6-4 in the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference.

Last year, the Lady Colonials had a 10-12 league record and made the playoffs for the first time since 1992. This season, even with the loss of ace Kim Carroll, second-year coach Cassie Arroyo feels she has the right mix of pitching, speed and hitting to get another playoff berth. "The win against Adelphi was a major step towards making the post-season," she said. "Our pitchers are young, but they have been outstanding so far, and we're hitting the ball much better than we did last year."