Riding preps for nationals; eyes 7th title

The Skidmore riding team earned the opportunity to compete for its seventh national championship, highlighting the spring sports week with a second-place finish at the Zone 2 championships. Women’s lacrosse continued its drive to a postseason appearance, notching two league wins, while baseball picked up a pair of wins against NYU. Softball added a win against Sage before falling in its conference-opening series and men’s tennis suffered tough losses against two top-15 opponents. Men’s lacrosse will be looking to get back on track at home on Tuesday after taking a loss on the road.

Riding qualified for the 2015 Intercollegiate Horse Show Association National Championship after a second-place finish in the Zone 2 championships. With the team’s trip to nationals on the line, Ursula Green ’16 earned second in the day’s final class, Open on the Flat, to secure the team’s championship berth. Co-captain Lauren Bosche ’15 and Heather Zhang ’15 also qualified to compete as individuals at nationals, winning Intermediate Over Fences and Walk-Trot, respectively. The ISHA is scheduled April 30-May 2 at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, Mass.

Women’s lacrosse notched back-to-back conference wins in dominant fashion, beating Bard, 16-4, before topping Vassar, 11-6. Eleven players scored against the Raptors, powering the team to its first league win. The Thoroughbreds got out to a 7-2 lead 7:23 into game and never looked back, cruising to the 16-4 decision. Tyler Phillips ’17 and Allison Byrne ’17 each had two goals and an assist, while Emma Harris ’16, Paige DiAntonio ’15, and Tess Mattimore ’16 each had a pair of goals. Against the Brewers, the team got out to another quick start, taking a 4-0 lead in the first 11 minutes. After back-to-back goals from Phillips and Harris extended the Thoroughbreds’ advantage to 6-1, Vassar produced the final two goals of the half to make it 6-3 at the break. However, Skidmore pulled away in the second half, opening the frame with four straight goals. Phillips extended her scoring streak to 17 games, dating back to last season, producing six points on four goals and two assists. Harris added five points, potting a hat trick and adding two assists, while Rachel Talanian ’17 scored her second goal in as many games, also causing a game-high three turnovers and recording a game-high five draw controls. The team goes on the road to take on St. Lawrence at 4 p.m. Friday, April 10.

MCLA squeezed the Thoroughbreds 4-3 in 11 innings before Skidmore went 2-1 in its series against NYU. Jeb Clarke ’16 was 3-for-5 with two doubles and two RBI against the Trailblazers, but MCLA took advantage of some costly errors to steal the win in extra innings. In the first game against the Violets, Skidmore took a 5-0 lead behind some timely hitting and solid pitching from starter Andrew Bannon ’15. Clarke had a two-out RBI double in the second and Chris Lorenz ’16 and Shawn Klier ’18 each had full count RBI singles in the third. Reliever Daniel Dasgupta ’17 came on in the sixth, pitching two innings for this third save of the season.

In the second game, NYU pulled in front 6-3 with three runs the sixth. The Thoroughbreds came back within one in the bottom half of the inning on a Steven Gilbert ’17 two-out, two-run double, but the Violets tacked on two in the seventh to preserve the win.

In the final game, the Thoroughbreds battled back from a 6-1 deficit, taking a 7-6 lead with a six-run sixth inning. Dasgupta and Dan Miller ’15 had RBI singles and Mat Marino ’17 drilled a three-run double to left. NYU tied it in the seventh, but Dasgupta drove in Mike LaVita ’16 with a double and later scored on a Miller single to help the team secure the 10-7 win. Jake Dougherty ’15 earned the win on the mound, throwing 4 2/3 innings of relief, allowing three runs (one earned) on five hits with no walks and five strikeouts. The Thoroughbreds host Vassar for a doubleheader at 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 8.

Softball split on the road at Sage before suffering setbacks in its Liberty League-opening series at RPI. In the first game against Sage, the team tacked on two key runs in the top of the seventh, as Mackenzie Whiting ’16 belted a two-run double in the top of the seventh to extend its lead to 7-4. Whiting also added a homerun in the win. Amada Carilli ’18 recorded her third career save, allowing just one hit and striking out two over the final two innings. In the second game, a three-run homerun gave the Gators a 5-0 advantage and they never looked back. Sage pitcher Lindsay Brace tossed a complete game, surrendering just one unearned run.

In the first game against RPI, the Thoroughbreds could only muster one run as they struggled to solve Engineers’ starting pitcher Kristina Welztin. Cassie Fishkin ’16 allowed just two earned runs on eight hits in six innings, but RPI managed to squeak out the 2-1 win. In the second game, the Engineers built an early 4-0 lead, but the Thoroughbreds bats came alive in the sixth. Lauren Fortunato ’17 plated Dani DeGregory ’16 with a single and Fishkin brought the team within one two batters later, connecting on a two-run double to right. However, RPI managed to hold the Skidmore offense in check in the seventh to hang on for the 4-3 win. The team welcomes MCLA for a doubleheader at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 7.

Two nationally ranked opponents edged men’s tennis, which fell to No. 6 Middlebury and No. 14 Williams. Against Middlebury, the number-one doubles team of Nick Tong ’16 and Kit Sanderson ’16 was an 8-6 winner, while Jonah Epstein ’16 posted a 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 win at number-five singles. With the match tied 4-4 against Williams, the outcome came down to number-five singles. Esptein shook off a first- set 6-2 loss to Sachin Raghavan, battling back in the second set with a 6-4 win, but Raghavan grinded out a 6-4 win in the third, giving the Ephs the 5-4 victory. Kai Yuen Leung ’17 contributed two wins, pairing with Epstein for a 9-7 at number two doubles, before winning 6-1, 7-5 at number one singles. Sanderson breezed to a 6-1, 6-1 win at number-one singles and Ted Berkowitz ’18 added a 6-4, 6-0 win at number-six singles. The 28th-ranked Thoroughbreds return to action Friday, April 10, taking on Emory University at Middlebury.

Men’s lacrosse took an 8-5 lead into the final quarter against Bard but the Raptors rallied in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Thoroughbreds 4-0 to secure the 9-8 win. Kevin Mulvey ’16 had his first hat trick of the season a hat trick, Brendan Halloran ’18 added three points with two goals and an assist and RJ Caruso ’18 had a multi-point game with a pair of helpers. In goal, Chris Baughan ’18 recorded double-digit saves for the fifth consecutive game, stopping 12 shots. The team hosts Castleton at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 7. ~ By Dan St.-Jacques