Garden City, N.Y. - The Adelphi University softball team was three outs away from its second straight conference sweep at home on Sunday, but visiting Bentley University rallied for eight runs in the top of the seventh in the nightcap to ultimately give the Panthers a split in cross-divisional action.
Adelphi (9-12, 3-1 NE10) got a brilliant effort from
Ally Muller in the circle in game one, and held leads of both 3-1 and 4-3 in the middle innings of the nightcap before dropping its first game at home this season.
Muller tossed her second shutout of the year to date in six innings of work, striking out eight, allowing just two hits and walking one. Over her last five starts, the sophomore from Hopewell Junction, N.Y. has lowered her season ERA by nearly a full run to 2.52 on the year to-date.
Muller benefited from an eight-run sixth, the first such inning of the day from either side, by the Panthers, which saw seven hits from Adelphi bats and two errors and a passed ball from the Falcons in the field.
Freshman tandem
Emily Whitman and
Ashley Lombardi drove in two in the inning, while
Elisabeth Berard later added a two-run single and scored on
Nicoletta Cuccio's base hit that ended the game via the run rule.
Trailing 1-0 in game two after the top of the fifth, Adelphi rallied with a three-run half of its own on a bases-clearing single by
Lauren Sandelier. The ball never left the infield from the previous three Adelphi batters, as
Lauren O'Neill was ruled safe on catcher's interference, and Berard and Whiman each legged out bunt and infield singles, respectively.
The Falcons (7-12, 3-1 NE10) rallied against the Adelphi bullpen, first scoring the tying runs against
Jessica Vadala in the top of the sixth on a double from Ella Hillier and a groundout that later scored her, before the visiting lineup notched eight runs on eight hits and two walks against the combination of Vadala and
Kristin Fealy in the top half of the seventh to erase a one-run deficit that came from the home team's sixth inning.
Despite three straight doubles from Cuccio, Sandelier and
Hannah Pineda in the home seventh that plated two runs, the deficit was too much for the Adelphi bats to overcome.
The Panthers kick off Southwest Division play on Tuesday afternoon, as they'll face Pace University in a single game which is a rematch of last spring's NE10 Championship. First pitch from Ficke Field is set for 3:30 p.m.
About Adelphi Athletics
A regionally and nationally competitive NCAA Division II institution located in Garden City, N.Y., Adelphi University has been a proud member of the Northeast-10 Conference since 2009.
Winners of 16 NCAA Division II National Championships and four NE10 Presidents' Cups, Panther athletes have excelled at the conference, regional and national level, both on the field of play and in the classroom. In turn, the Adelphi athletic department is committed to fostering an environment of diversity, inclusion, equity and success where its student-athletes can thrive both on campus and off.
Stay connected with Adelphi Athletics by following the Panthers at
aupanthers.com or via social media on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and wear your Panther pride by shopping official Adelphi Panthers gear at
our licensed team store.
