Softball Defeats Albright, 5-2

MYRTLE BEACH – Suffolk softball wrapped up its second day of action at the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic with a 5-2 victory over Albright Monday night at the North Myrtle Beach Park and Sports Complex.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 5 | Albright 2
RECORDS: Suffolk (2-2) | Albright (0-4)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk chased one after Albright ticked one run on the board in the top of the first. A Rams' response did not take long as the home team scored twice in the home half of the inning to take a 2-1 lead.  

Caitlin Murphy and Savannah Scripter sandwiched walks around a sac bunt by Alexa White to put runners in the corners. Singles by Ava Brandow and Ally Cifaratta brought in Murphy and Haley Oteri, who pinch ran for Scripter, to push the Rams in front. 

An inning later Suffolk stretched the distance to two. Ira Boci got the frame going with a double to left center took third on a wild pitch and cruised in on Murphy's double to center to make it a 3-1 game.  

Action turned to the twirler's hands over the next two innings before the Lions got a run back in the top of the fifth to trim the gap back to one, 3-2.  

Similar to how the game started, Suffolk answered immediately, again with two runs. Albright shuffled its fielders up and brought Allison Melahn in to pitch. With the fresh players at almost every spot on the field, Suffolk scored on a wild pitch and an error by Albright's short stop to push the cushion back three, 5-2.  

Neither team scored from there and thankfully, Brandow, who took over for Kennedy Reyes at the top of the fifth, retired the side in the sixth and seventh, respectively, to preserve the win.  

PITCHERS PICTURE

• Reyes allowed just one unearned run on four hits over 4.0 innings. She sat down one hitter in the win. 
• Brandown secured the save after letting up one run on two hits to go along with two punchouts in the final 3.0 frames of action.  
• Laura Costello allowed three runs on six hits and two walks with one K in 4.0 innings to take the loss. 
• Melahn gave up two runs, one earned, on two hits and one walk in 2.0 innings of relief for the Lions. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Brandow put together a 2-for-2 performance with a double and one RBI at the plate. 
• Cifratta chipped in two hits, one RBI and one run. 
• Murphy notched one hit, a double, one RBI, one run and one walk. 
• Ella Turnbull and Ira Boci had identical one-hit, one-run stat lines. Boci's hit, however, was a double. 
• Rebecca Gonzalez rounded out the Rams with a hit with one to her credit. 
• Oteri scored one run.
• White, Jolie Quintana and Ashley King all laid down a sac bunt.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk took the field against Albright for the first time. 
• Brandow made her first collegiate appearance on the rubber. 
• Brandow had a career-high two hits, knocked one double for the second time in college and drew a walk for the first time in her career.
• Turnbull knocked her first collegiate hit and scored for the first time at Suffolk. 
• Boci registered her first hit and run of the season. 
• Gonzalez tallied her first hit of the year. 
• Oteri scored her first collegiate run.  

POST-GAME PIC
 

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk has tomorrow off and will return to action Wednesday, March 16 when it takes on Albertus Magnus and Stevenson. The Rams take on the Falcons at 9:30 a.m., before facing the Mustangs at 11:30 a.m.