WATERBURY, Conn. – At this point in the season, every single game is crucial for Post University Softball as they are nearing the end of their conference schedule and sit on the outside looking in for the CACC Tournament. Coming into the day, their opponent in Chestnut Hill College was in a similar situation having just one win and no wins in conference.

But in a pair of hard-fought games for both sides, the Eagles would hold off a late rally in game one for the 4-3 victory while the Griffins did the same after nearly squandering a six-run lead in the seventh inning of game two to earn a doubleheader split with a 10-9 win.

THE BASICS

Post University 4, Chestnut Hill College 3

Post University 9, Chestnut Hill College 10

Post University (5-27, 2-14 CACC)

Chestnut Hill College (2-20, 1-13 CACC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Game 1: Post University 4, Chestnut Hill College 3
For the second time in as many days, senior infielder Lily Tomasiello went deep for her sixth home run of the season, a two-run shot after graduate outfielder Samantha Riccardulli got her 100^th career hit to start the inning as Post went up 2-0 after one before both freshman right-hander Michelle Baker for the Griffins and freshman left-hander Devin Barnett held their opponents in check for the next three two innings.

In the fourth, Barnett would allow her first two hits of the game after retiring the first nine batters she faced in the first three innings. Junior outfielder Camille Dunham led off the inning with a single and was sacrificed over to second for sophomore utility player Mianna Lopez Del Haro's run-scoring double to cut the Chestnut Hill deficit in half, 2-1. But the Eagles responded with two runs of their own after back-to-back singles to start the home half of the frame.

Senior outfielder Carli Perruso moved both runners into scoring position with her sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch by Baker scored a run followed by an RBI infield single from senior shortstop Caitlin DeAngelis to move her within one hit of 150 in her career which she would have to wait for game two to see if she could reach.

Meanwhile, the Griffins would look to come back, capitalizing on a one-out error by senior infielder Julia Maida with a two-out triple by Lopez Del Haro to head into their last at-bats down two, 4-2. Against Barnett in the seventh, a leadoff single from freshman infielder Jenn Pokropinski would score on a ground-rule double from junior infielder Anastasia Watson to make it a one-run game with only one out.

But Barnett would retire the next two Griffin hitters, capping off her first collegiate win with a complete game five-hitter in which she allowed three runs (two earned) and struck out two batters. Barnett threw just 69 pitches in the 4-3 win which snapped a six-game losing streak for Post.

Game 2: Post University 9, Chestnut Hill College 10
Nine runs for the Griffins over the first two innings would be more than enough for them to take game two, snapping their 17-game losing streak as senior right-hander Maddison Caldwell struggled in the only two innings she would pitch in. The first six batters of the game would reach base safely for Chestnut Hill with a leadoff double by Dunham followed by five straight singles which made it a 4-0 lead for the visitors. An RBI ground out for sophomore catcher Jazmine Ramirez capped the scoring off at five runs in the first frame.

Six more hits in the second inning off Caldwell resulted in another four runs crossing the plate as well as a throwing error by the right-hander to give Chestnut Hill a substantial 9-0 edge after only 1 ½ innings of play, but Post would not go down quietly. Sophomore catcher Brianna Hynds got the Eagles their first run of the game with an RBI single in the bottom of the second and two more runs came in Maida was hit by a pitch from sophomore right-hander Gabriella Quinones in the third as well as an RBI single from freshman utility player Allysa Calabrese which cut the deficit to six, 9-3.

Lopez Del Haro's home run in the fifth re-upped the Griffin lead to six runs, 10-4, and with only three outs to work with in the seventh, suddenly the Post bats got to Quinones. The Eagles loaded the bases with nobody out for Maida, who singled home senior third baseman Jenny Riquelme and a Calabrese fielder's choice which resulted in the first out of the inning plated another run for the Eagles who trailed only by four now, 10-6.

Down to their last out following a ground out by senior Julianna Cicala, junior infielder Bailey Dickenson singled home two runs and back-to-back walks issued by Quinones loaded the bases again in a 10-8 game for Riquelme. On a 1-2 pitch, Quinones' pitch would go to the backstop to score another run, but after Riquelme fought off a few pitches with the winning run on second, pitch number 135 would seal the game for the Griffins with Riquelme's booming fly ball to left field which was caught, ending the doubleheader in a split for Post with a 10-9 loss.

BY THE NUMBERS

• After her home run in the first game, Lily Tomasiello now has six home runs on the year and is just three away from tying the single-season record set by Megan Pappas (2005) and Erica Ragazzone (2017) with nine home runs
• Caitlin DeAngelis became the 15th player in program history to reach 150 career hits doing so with a double in the fourth inning of game two which was her 146^th career game played
• Sam Riccardulli recorded her 100^th career hit in her fifth season with Post University – Riccardulli entered the day with a career-high 32 hits this year
• Post University is now 3-6 when scoring the first run of the game while moving to 2-21 when allowing the first run of the game this season
• Dating back to the 2019 season, Post University had won nine straight games against Chestnut Hill College – The loss in game two marks the first time since April 13^th, 2019 the Eagles have fallen to the Griffins and first time in program history Chestnut Hill has beaten Post at LaMoy Field in 16 tries

WHO'S NEXT 
Post University is off until Saturday when they head on the road for their first of six games away from LaMoy Field against Georgian Court University in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference doubleheader slated to start at noon. Last season, the Eagles split their doubleheader with the Lions, but have lost 11 of 12 games overall since 2018 against them.