Army West Point Athletics
Saturday, May 7
West Point, NY
1 PM
Army West Point
36-17, 0
6
vs
2
Lafayette
12-31, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Lafayette
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
2
4
2
Army
1
5
0
0
0
0
X
6
11
0
Softball Sweeps Lafayette, Wins Seventh-Straight
May 07, 2016 | Softball
WEST POINT, N.Y. – After sweeping Lafayette in Saturday's doubleheader, the Army West Point softball team broke the regular season wins record by two after improving to 37-17. The Black Knights downed the Leopards 6-2 and 6-1 at the Softball Complex for their seventh-straight win.
"I thought we came out hard today, said head coach Michelle DePolo. "We were able to put runs on the board in multiple innings which is something we are always striving for. The team was able to make adjustments to Lafayette's pitcher. She really slowed us down in the first game, but we saw her again and the team made those adjustments and were successful."
The Black Knights struck early in game one when Mae Wadyka reached first on a hit then advanced to second on a throwing error by the pitcher. Alee Rashenskas had a sacrifice hit which pushed Wadyka to third. Emily Gray doubled to right center to send Wadyka home for an unearned run to put Army ahead 1-0.
The Black Knights had a five-run inning in the home half of the second off six hits and one error. Caroline Smith started things off with a single to right field. Maddie Kim was up to bat next and slammed a home run over the center field fence to put the Black Knights ahead 3-0.
Ashley Yoo was next up to the plate and she reached first on a single to right field. Wadyka then singled to left center as Yoo rounded second and advanced to third on an error by the Lafayette outfield. Wadyka stole second as Kasey McCravey stepped in to put herself into scoring position. McCravey stroked a two-run double to left center driving in Yoo and Wadyka to give Army a 5-0 advantage.
Rashenskas singled up the middle which sent McCravey home on the next play. Emily Gray reached on a fielder's choice to push McCravey home to pad Army's lead at 6-0 through the second.
Smith retired the first 11 batters she faced in the game as the Leopards earned their first hit of the game in the top of the fourth. In the top of the sixth, Lafayette scored two runs fueled by a home run by S. Sweigart over the left center field fence with Aja Brechtel on the rubber.
Renee Poirier came in as the reliever in the top of the seventh. She retired the next three to close the game.
Game two was scoreless through three innings as Army tacked on three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Gray recorded a lead-off walk as Tyler McKinney came in as the pinch runner. McPeek had a single bunt and advanced to second on the throw as McKinney made it to third. Gladys Esparza-Gallegos was walked to load the bases.
Smith notched a sacrifice fly to right field to advance McKinney home to give the Black Knights their first run of the game. Kim grounded out to the pitcher, but Esparza-Gallegos and McPeek advanced to third. Yoo flew one out to left field as the Leopards recorded an error as McPeek and Esparza-Gallegos scored to put Army ahead 3-0.
In the home half of the fifth, Wadyka singled up the middle before a McCravey laced a one-run double to right center field to pad the Black Knights' lead at 4-0. McCravey moved to third as Rashenskas was grounded out to the short stop. She then scored on an illegal pitch to put the Cadets on top 5-0.
Esparza-Gallegos singled to left field to make it on base. Hanna Rozzi was then subbed in as her pinch runner. A single up the middle by Smith propelled Rozzi into scoring position. Kim then knocked a one-run single to the left side which sent Rozzi home.
The Leopards tallied their first run of the game in the top of the seventh when J. Didio had an RBI single to put Lafayette on the board. Poirier retired the next two batters however to complete the game.
Kim closed the day with a team-leading .600 batting average fueled by three hits and also recorded a 1.200 slugging percentage by driving in three. McPeek hit .500 with three hits, while Wadyka went three-for-seven. McCravey notched two doubles on the day and totaled five bases to break the single season total bases record with 109. She totals 400 bases on her career.
Smith picked up win number 13 of the season today through 5.2 innings pitched. Poirier also earned a win to improve to 9-5 off eight strikeouts.
"Caroline has been solid for three years," DePolo said. "When she puts the ball where she wants to and moves it, she is pretty hard to beat. All the pitchers have been doing a great job this season. As we head into the post-season we need to continue pitching strong, playing smart, being strong defensively and keep things simple."
The Black Knights return to the Softball Complex on Sunday for the regular season finale and for senior day. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
"I thought we came out hard today, said head coach Michelle DePolo. "We were able to put runs on the board in multiple innings which is something we are always striving for. The team was able to make adjustments to Lafayette's pitcher. She really slowed us down in the first game, but we saw her again and the team made those adjustments and were successful."
The Black Knights struck early in game one when Mae Wadyka reached first on a hit then advanced to second on a throwing error by the pitcher. Alee Rashenskas had a sacrifice hit which pushed Wadyka to third. Emily Gray doubled to right center to send Wadyka home for an unearned run to put Army ahead 1-0.
The Black Knights had a five-run inning in the home half of the second off six hits and one error. Caroline Smith started things off with a single to right field. Maddie Kim was up to bat next and slammed a home run over the center field fence to put the Black Knights ahead 3-0.
Ashley Yoo was next up to the plate and she reached first on a single to right field. Wadyka then singled to left center as Yoo rounded second and advanced to third on an error by the Lafayette outfield. Wadyka stole second as Kasey McCravey stepped in to put herself into scoring position. McCravey stroked a two-run double to left center driving in Yoo and Wadyka to give Army a 5-0 advantage.
Rashenskas singled up the middle which sent McCravey home on the next play. Emily Gray reached on a fielder's choice to push McCravey home to pad Army's lead at 6-0 through the second.
Smith retired the first 11 batters she faced in the game as the Leopards earned their first hit of the game in the top of the fourth. In the top of the sixth, Lafayette scored two runs fueled by a home run by S. Sweigart over the left center field fence with Aja Brechtel on the rubber.
Renee Poirier came in as the reliever in the top of the seventh. She retired the next three to close the game.
Game two was scoreless through three innings as Army tacked on three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Gray recorded a lead-off walk as Tyler McKinney came in as the pinch runner. McPeek had a single bunt and advanced to second on the throw as McKinney made it to third. Gladys Esparza-Gallegos was walked to load the bases.
Smith notched a sacrifice fly to right field to advance McKinney home to give the Black Knights their first run of the game. Kim grounded out to the pitcher, but Esparza-Gallegos and McPeek advanced to third. Yoo flew one out to left field as the Leopards recorded an error as McPeek and Esparza-Gallegos scored to put Army ahead 3-0.
In the home half of the fifth, Wadyka singled up the middle before a McCravey laced a one-run double to right center field to pad the Black Knights' lead at 4-0. McCravey moved to third as Rashenskas was grounded out to the short stop. She then scored on an illegal pitch to put the Cadets on top 5-0.
Esparza-Gallegos singled to left field to make it on base. Hanna Rozzi was then subbed in as her pinch runner. A single up the middle by Smith propelled Rozzi into scoring position. Kim then knocked a one-run single to the left side which sent Rozzi home.
The Leopards tallied their first run of the game in the top of the seventh when J. Didio had an RBI single to put Lafayette on the board. Poirier retired the next two batters however to complete the game.
Kim closed the day with a team-leading .600 batting average fueled by three hits and also recorded a 1.200 slugging percentage by driving in three. McPeek hit .500 with three hits, while Wadyka went three-for-seven. McCravey notched two doubles on the day and totaled five bases to break the single season total bases record with 109. She totals 400 bases on her career.
Smith picked up win number 13 of the season today through 5.2 innings pitched. Poirier also earned a win to improve to 9-5 off eight strikeouts.
"Caroline has been solid for three years," DePolo said. "When she puts the ball where she wants to and moves it, she is pretty hard to beat. All the pitchers have been doing a great job this season. As we head into the post-season we need to continue pitching strong, playing smart, being strong defensively and keep things simple."
The Black Knights return to the Softball Complex on Sunday for the regular season finale and for senior day. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Smith, Caroline (13-9)
L: Marinelli, Kristyn (3-10)
Batting:
HR: Sweigart, Samantha 1
RBI: Sweigart, Samantha 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Sweigart, Samantha 1 ; Didio, Jenna 1
Batting:
2B: McCravey, Kasey 1 ; Gray, Emily 1
HR: Kim, Maddie 1
RBI: McCravey, Kasey 2 ; Gray, Emily 2 ; Kim, Maddie 2
SH: Rashenskas, Alee 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Wadyka, Mae 2 ; McCravey, Kasey 1 ; Smith, Caroline 1 ; Kim, Maddie 1 ; Yoo, Ashley 1
SB: Wadyka, Mae 1 ; McCravey, Kasey 1 ; Rashenskas, Alee 1
HBP: Esparza-Gallegos, Gladys 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
2
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
P
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
UTL
/ SoftballC/INF
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
UTL
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballArmy Navy Cross Country Star Meet
Saturday, October 18
This Week in Army Football: Tulane
Tuesday, October 14
Women's Army Rugby v. Davenport University (11-OCT-25)
Sunday, October 12
Army vs. Charlotte Game Highlights
Saturday, October 11