Heading into the stretch; postseason play in sight

Skidmore’s spring sports teams are heading into the final weeks of competition and with the postseason in sight, several teams recorded key wins and performances over the past few days. Women’s lacrosse moved into second place in the Liberty League standings with a pair of conference wins, while golf continued its impressive form with a top-three finish at the NYU/Manhattanville Invitational. Softball went 3-1, posting a conference win at St. Lawrence, while men’s tennis, women’s tennis and men’s lacrosse each registered a victory. Baseball will look to stay in the playoff hunt when it returns to action this week after falling it its series against league-leader University of Rochester.

Women’s lacrosse extended its winning streak to four games, securing two key Liberty League road wins against St. Lawrence and Clarkson. Spencer Morgan ‘15 tallied her fifth goal of the game in the second overtime to give the Thoroughbreds a 14-13 decision over the Saints. Skidmore carried an 8-2 lead into the half after six, securing six straight goals in the first, but St. Lawrence stormed back in the second, outscoring the Thoroughbreds 10-3 to take a 12-11 lead. Emma Harris ‘16 forced overtime, netting her second of the game with 2:32 to play. The teams traded goals in the first overtime to send the game into sudden-death overtime, where Morgan converted on a free position for the victory. Tyler Phillips ‘18 added five goals, an assist and four draw controls in the win.

Trailing 7-6 against Clarkson with just over 20 minutes remaining, the team rattled off four unanswered goals and managed to hang on for the 10-8 win. Caroline Bowne ‘15 tied the game with her first goal of the season and Adele Mackey ‘16 gave the Thoroughbreds their first lead just over five minutes later. Morgan provided the final push, producing two goals in a 75-second span to make it 10-7. Clarkson added one goal, but that’s as close as it would get. The team hosts its final home games of the regular season this weekend, taking on RIT at 4 p.m. Friday, April 17, before playing Rochester at 3 p.m. Saturday, April 18.

Golf shot a second-round 306 to tie Middlebury for third place in the NYU/Mahattanville Spring Invitational. The Thoroughbreds shot 313-306—619, finishing three strokes back of tournament winner Williams College. Teddy Badenhausen ‘17 and Tim Manwaring ‘16 were the team’s top finishers, tying for ninth with 76-77—153 and 79-74—153, respectively. Zach Grossman ‘15 added a top-15 finish, placing 14th with 78-77—155. The team hosts the Tim Brown Invitational April 18-19 at the Ballston Spa Country Club.

Softball swept MCLA, winning game one 9-8 in nine innings before rolling to an 8-1 victory in game two. Down 5-3 in game one, the team scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth behind key RBI singles from Abby Shea ‘16 and Lizette Roman-Johnston ‘18. MCLA tied the game back up in the top of the seventh, scoring an unearned run to force extra inning. After reliever Amanda Carilli ‘18 got out of a one-out bases-loaded jam in the top of the eighth, the Thoroughbreds scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth, as Mackenzie Whiting ‘16 drew a bases-loaded walk.

In the second game, the team took control early, scoring three runs in the first. Dani DeGregory ‘16 ripped a lead-off triple and scored on a Roman-Johnston single. Lauren Fortunato ‘17 then belted her second home run of the season for the 3-0 lead. The Thoroughbreds added four more in the third to go up 7-1. Fortunato produced her third RBI of the day with a triple, Casey Attonito ‘18 recorded her first collegiate home run and Kristina Foley ‘18 had an RBI double. Carilli earned her second win of the day on the mound, allowing one run on three hits over five innings, while striking out four.

Against St. Lawrence, the Thoroughbreds exploded for a 10-0 win in game two, securing a Liberty League split after dropping the opening game 4-3. Although the Saints registered a walk-off win in the opening game, Skidmore came firing back in the second. The Thoroughbreds took a 5-0 lead with a five-run fifth inning. Cassie Fishkin ‘16 produced the first runs of the game with a two-run double, Lauren Gorstein ‘17 made it 3-0 with an RBI single and Attonito capped the inning with a two-run single up the middle.  The team tacked on three more runs in the fourth, as Fishkin delivered a bases-clearing single. The Thoroughbreds would add two more runs in the fifth on a St. Lawrence throwing error. Fishkin finished 2-for-3 with five RBI, while Carilli earned the win on the mound, allowing just four hits over five innings.

Women’s tennis handed The College of New Jersey its first loss of the season, rolling to a 9-0 shutout. Zoe Valella ‘15 recorded a 6-0, 6-3 win at number-one singles and added an 8-2 win at number-one doubles with teammate Yumi Karlshoej ‘15. Erica Meno ‘18 and Michelle Fuca ‘18 each had three-set wins. Meno won 4-6, 7-6 (9-7), 10-4 at number four and Fuca posted a 4-6, 6-2, 10-5 win at number five. The 16th-ranked Thoroughbreds suffered a 9-0 setback against No. 9 Bowdoin in their second match of the week. The team returns to Liberty League play at RPI at 1 p.m. Sunday, April 19.

Men’s tennis battled back from a 2-1 deficit against the College of New Jersey, winning five of six singles matches to earn the 7-3 victory. Kai Yuen Leung ‘18 won 6-4, 6-4 at number-one singles after pairing with Nick Tong ‘16 for an 8-6 win at number-one doubles. Kit Sanderson ‘16 notched a three-set win at number two singles, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4, and Lucas Pickering ‘18 also ground out a 6-2, 6-7 (7-3), 7-6 (6-4) win at number-four singles. The 26th-ranked Thoroughbreds fell behind 3-0 after doubles in their match against No. 24 Stevens and could fight their way back. Yuen Leung was a 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 winner at number-one singles, while Sanderson picked up a 6-2, 7-5 win at number two. The team returns to Liberty League competition with a home match against Hobart at 1 p.m., Saturday, April 18.

Men’s lacrosse scored 12 unanswered goals against Castleton en route to a 14-3 win. Kevin Mulvey ‘16 scored a season-high five goals, while attackman Cody Legeza ‘18 had a career-high four points with a goal and three assists. Ryan Warnock ‘18 gave the team a huge boost from the face-off X, winning 13 of 17 draws, while also collecting a game-high six ground balls. The Thoroughbreds were knocked off by Clarkson in their second contest of the week, 14-7. The team fell behind 7-1 in the first quarter and could not recover, as the Golden Knights pulled away for the win. Mulvey extended his scoring streak to five games, netting his third consecutive hat trick, while Josh Trachtenberg ‘15 added a pair of goals. In goal, Chris Baughan ‘18 posted double-digit saves for the sixth time in seven games, stopping 14 shots. The Thoroughbreds host Trinity (Conn.) at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 14, in its final non-conference game of the season.

Baseball came up empty in a four-game series against red-hot Rochester. In the first game, Nick Petrella ‘15 tossed a complete game, allowing seven hits, four runs (two earned) and one walk while striking out six. In game two, the Yellowjackets piled on 13 runs to seize a 13-3 win. Josh Brown ‘17 was the lone bright spot for the Thoroughbreds, as he went 3-for-3 with a triple and three RBI.                                                                                                  

In the third game, Skidmore got out to a 3-0 lead after three innings. Kevin Cross ‘15 delivered an RBI single and Jeb Clarke ‘16 drove in two runs in the third with a one-out single up the middle. Rochester battled back, scoring two runs in the fourth and adding two more in the sixth to pick up the 4-3 win.

After falling behind 3-0 in the first inning in the final game, the Thoroughbreds got on the board in the second behind a solo shot from Brown. The team added three runs in the third, capitalizing on three walks from Yellowjackets starter John Ghyzel. Matt Barra ‘15 drew a bases-loaded walk and Brown knocked in two runs with a single to put Skidmore in front 4-3. Rochester came roaring back, recording 10 unanswered runs over the next three innings to break the game open. The Thoroughbreds plated three runs in the ninth to reach the final score of 13-7. Brown had an RBI ground out and finished 2-5 with a run and four RBI.

The team welcomes Vassar for a Liberty League doubleheader at 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 15. ~ By Dan St.-Jacques