April 3, 2005
Box Score
New Haven, Conn. - The Marist softball team (8-12) swept a doubleheader from host Yale today, winning the opener 5-1 and taking the nightcap 3-1. Junior catcher Jasmery Polanco went five for seven at the plate with three RBI while freshman hurler Megan Rigos won Game 1 and earned the save in Game 2.
Polanco got the Red Foxes off to a hot start in the opener with an RBI single in the top of the first that brought home junior 3B Chrystine McHugh. McHugh had doubled to extend her consecutive-game hit streak to 12. She would add a double in the second game as her streak now stands at 13 games.
Junior 2B Laurissa Riley swatted her first career home run to lead off the third inning, giving Marist a 2-0 lead it would not relinquish. McHugh followed with another double and three batters later was driven in by Polanco's double. Junior DP Bridget Hurlman and junior SS Katie Eskin followed with consecutive singles, the second of which scored Polanco and chased Yale starter Peggy Hunt.
The Bulldogs got a run back in the sixth on C Kristy Kwiatkowski's RBI single, but the Red Foxes would add their fifth and final run in the seventh as Hurlman hit a scorching grounder to right field. Although she was thrown out at first base, pinch runner Pamela de la Llave came around to score and Marist went on to win 5-1.
Rigos was dominant in the circle, pitching a complete game four-hitter with four strikeouts to improve her record to 6-8 on the year. Polanco finished three for four with two RBI while McHugh was two for four with two runs scored.
The second game featured dueling shutouts by Marist freshman Kristen Merlino and Yale's Jessica Meyer until the top of the fourth, when Polanco led off with a triple and immediately scored on Eskin's double to left field. Eskin then scored to make it 2-0 as Yale SS Aracelis Torres misplayed a Hurlman grounder.
Marist made the score 3-0 in the top of the fifth when McHugh doubled and Polanco singled her home for her third RBI of the day.
That score stood until the bottom of the seventh when LF Courtney Blachford delivered a one-out RBI single to get the Bulldogs on the board.
With two on and two out, head coach Melissa Tucci called to the bullpen and brought in Rigos to close out the sweep. The rookie delivered, getting Kwiatkowski to ground to third to end the ballgame.
Merlino went six and two-thirds innings, scattering seven hits and a walk while striking out one to earn her second win. Rigos picked up her second save. Polanco was two for three with a run scored and an RBI. Meyer took the loss as Yale falls to 8-14.
The Red Foxes travel to Providence on Tuesday for a doubleheader that starts at 3 p.m.
