FLUSHING, N.Y. – As the Queens College softball team continued their third East Coast Conference doubleheader of the week, the Knights welcomed the Spartans of St. Thomas Aquinas College to QC Softball Field Thursday afternoon.
The offense would fizzle in game one as the Knights fell 9-0 in five innings as five fielding errors came back to haunt the home side before junior
Dyana Budakowski (Washingtonville, N.Y.) locked in a pitcher duel in game two against ECC Co-Player of the Week Carrisa Della Vecchia. But the game would be put on pause twice due to lightning in the area before rain officially halted the nightcap with the game scoreless in the top of the eighth inning.
Game two was a completely different narrative as Budakowski
(7.1 IP, 3H, 7BB, 5K) went toe-to-toe with Vecchia
(7.0 IP, 3H, 9K).
The Washingtonville native began game two back-to-back outs before allowing a walk but would end the inning with a grounder to second base.
The Knights would open the bottom half of the first inning with a hit as freshman
Amanda Baez (Selden, N.Y.) (1-3 AB) singled through the right side but Vecchia would leave Baez stranded on first as she ended the inning without any damage.
Budakowski began the second with a strikeout before allowing back-to-back walks to put runners on first and second. But the junior would avoid damage as the Knights got out of the inning with a 5-3 double play to third basemen sophomore
Riley O'Connor (Maspeth, N.Y.).
The Spartans would threaten in the top of the fourth as they began the inning with a single through the left side. A fielding error would put runners on first and second as the Spartans looked to open the scoring with no outs. But the Knights would get the first out as they caught the runner stealing third before Budakowski struck out the next batter and ended the inning with a grounder to O'Connor at third base.
With Vecchia cruising the Knights lineup, senior
Ann Grimshaw (New Hyde Park, N.Y.) (2-3 AB, 2B) singled to center field for the Knights' first hit since the first inning. But with two outs, the Spartans would evade damage as they got senior
Marisa Sagona (North Babylon, N.Y.) to line out at second base to end the fourth inning.
In the fifth inning, Budakowski kept the game scoreless as she got out of another jam with runners on first and second.
The game would be halted in the bottom of the fifth with one out with lightning in the area.
Play would resume 30 minutes later but Vecchia would work another clean inning to keep the game scoreless. But the Knights' game two starting pitcher would not be outdone as she continued to keep the home side in the game.
With the game still scoreless heading into the bottom of the seventh and dark clouds forming over QC Softball field, the Knights had a runner in scoring position with one out as Grimshaw tallied her second hit of the game with a double down the right-field line.
The Knights would send junior
Cyarra Alvarado (Coral Spring, Fla) to pinch run as they looked for a walk-off victory. However Vecchia would get the second out as she induced Sagona to line out at first base. But a passed ball would allow Alvarado to advance to third base and with the winning run 60 feet away, the Knights turned to pinch hitter sophomore
Arianna Fracchioni (Westbury, N.Y.) for the winning single.
But Vecchia would get the sophomore swinging to send the game to extras.
Playing their first extra-inning of the season, Budakowski returned to the circle in a scoreless game. But the junior would allow her seventh walk of the game to open the eighth inning before the Spartans stole second to put a runner in scoring position.
But Budakowski would get the first out with a fly out to left-center field before game two was officially halted with consistent rain.
Game two will be completed at a later date.
UP NEXT: Head coach
Amy Delmore and the Knights continue conference play as they travel to Bridgeport, CT with a Saturday (Apr. 16) afternoon doubleheader against the University of Bridgeport Purple Knights. The first pitch is set for noon.
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