Garden City, N.Y. -- The Adelphi University softball team concluded a two-week homestand with a sweep of the visiting Southern Connecticut State University Owls on Wednesday afternoon at Janet L. Ficke Field, 10-4 and 4-1.

Nicole Camera led the Panthers (15-9, 6-0 NE-10) with three RBIs in the opener on a 2-4 showing at the plate with a run scored, while Stephanie Staiano and Fallon McCarthy combined for 4 RBIs in the first game of the day. Brenna Martini and Megan Lewis each drove in a pair of runs across the double header, as both hit a solo home run in the game two to power the Brown and Gold to the sweep. 

Game 1
A five-run first inning set the tone for Adelphi early and gave Lindsay Mapes a cushion from the outset of the contest. After Nicoletta Cuccio worked out a one out walk, consecutive singles by Martini and Camera gave Adelphi a 1-0 lead before Lewis walked to load the bases. A tough at bat for Staiano followed, but the junior worked out a walk against Kelsey Cockrill to force in a run and double the lead. A Danielle Cutuli groundout scored another run for the Panthers, before McCarthy lined a pitch to left to drive in both Staiano and Lewis and give the Panthers the 5-0 lead.

From there, Cockrill silenced the Adelphi bats for the next three innings and the Owls pulled to within a run at 5-4 behind a pair of two-run homers from Guiliana D'Arcangelo in the third and fifth. However, the Panthers broke through again in the bottom of the fifth for three more runs to make it an 8-4 contest. The rally began with a leadoff single from Krista King, before Cuccio walked and Martini singled up the middle to score King, and advanced to second on the throw with Cuccio on third. 

With one out, Lewis singled in Cuccio and advanced to second on the throw to make in a three-run game; in the next at bat, Staiano grounded to second, but the second baseman tried to throw out Martini at home and instead threw the ball over the catcher's head to make it an 8-4 game. Mapes walked a pair in the top of the sixth but kept the Owls off the board, while the Panthers added the last two runs off the bat of Camera in the bottom of the frame. After King hit a one out double, Cuccio and Martini both walked off of Cockrill to again load the bases. This time Camera cashed in, as she singled through the right side to score King and Cuccio to make it a 10-4 game. 

Mapes retired the side in order in the seventh for the complete game win, as she scattered four runs, seven hits, two walks and seven strikeouts across the game.

Game 2
In game two, the Owls scored first off of Kristin Fealy when Arianna Medeiros came home on a Danielle Piazza groundout to shortstop, but Fealy struck out the last two batters of the inning to strand a pair of runners in scoring position. However, the game was quickly knotted at 1-1 in the bottom of the inning as Martini hit her sixth home run of the season to right center with two outs.

The Panthers took the lead in the third as Christina Palmenteri rocketed a leadoff triple down the left field line to lead off the inning and came home on King's sacrifice fly to left to make it a 2-1 game. Fealy retired the side in order in the top of the 4th, and Adelphi closed out their scoring in the game with two run in the bottom of the inning. Lewis' second home run of the season was hit over the left field fence with one out, and consecutive singles from Staiano and Cutuli had Adelphi looking for more. After a McCarthy flyout advanced Staiano to third, Palmenteri single to second which allowed her to score the fourth Adelphi run.

Fealy's biggest test of the remaining innings came in the seventh, as she worked around an error and a walk to strand the tying runners on base and ended the game by getting Medeiros to ground out on the comebacker. Fealy picked up her seventh straight win in the circle, as she let up four hits and struck out five.

The Panthers return to action on Friday, March 25 when they travel to Waterbury, Conn. for a double header with Post University beginning at 12 pm. 

NOTES
- Martini and Sandelier earned NE-10 Player and Rookie of the Week honors, respectively, on Monday from the league office. 
- The Panthers finish the swing at home with a 13-1 record.

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About Adelphi Athletics:
Adelphi University joined the Northeast-10 Conference in the fall of 2009 and in the past six seasons has collected 16 regular season conference titles, 21 tournament championships, 27 individual crowns and captured the Northeast-10 President's Cup twice (2013 and 2014), while winning five NCAA Division II National Championships.

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