WATERBURY, Conn. – When you look solely at wins and losses, the Post University Softball season was far from what anybody would have hoped for. But for those who got to witness how the Eagles' season ended on Wednesday afternoon against Dominican (N.Y.) and the emotions that followed, it was the perfect book end to the year. Dropping game one, 6-2, Post came back in game two with their first mercy rule victory of the season, 9-1, in five innings and eliminated the Lady Chargers from CACC Tournament contention.
If Dominican (N.Y.) had won game two and swept tomorrow against Wilmington University, they would have made it in as the eight seed, knocking out Holy Family University by virtue of the tiebreaker. But after junior infielder Bailey Dickenson played spoiler by ending the game after five, the emotions flooded out of the Eagles' players as they said goodbye to nine total players who saw their careers come to an end when senior infielder Lily Tomasiello stepped on home plate.
THE BASICS
Post University 2, Dominican (N.Y.) 6
Post University 9, Dominican (N.Y.) 1 (5 Innings)
Post University (7-39, 3-19 CACC)
Dominican (N.Y.) (11-26, 8-12 CACC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Game 1: Post University 2, Dominican (N.Y.) 6
Both pitchers would go the distance in game one, each throwing over 100 pitches as senior right-hander Maddison Caldwell finished with 101 pitches, allowing six runs on 12 hits with three strikeouts. Sophomore right-hander Emily Baxter had the upper hand, throwing 117 pitches in which she allowed two runs on four hits with 10 strikeouts and two walks in the win.
After two scoreless innings for both sides, Dominican (N.Y.) would strike for four runs in the third behind an RBI single from junior outfielder Emma Kaszovitz and a two-out, three-run home run from senior third baseman Haylee Ridge to take a 4-0 lead. In the bottom of the inning, Tomasiello narrowly missed her program-record 10th home run of the season, hitting the base of the wall for a long RBI double, cutting the deficit to three, 4-1.
Tomasiello would tack on another run with her RBI single to left in the fifth, but at that point, Post trailed 6-1 before her hit as an RBI double by junior shortstop Chloe McIntosh and RBI single from graduate first baseman Madison Walker in the fourth had extended the Lady Chargers' lead. Baxter would allow just one hit through the last two innings of work to secure game one, 6-2, for Dominican (N.Y.).
Game 2:Â Post University 9, Dominican (N.Y.) 1 (5 Innings)
An RBI single by Ridge in the top of the first for the Lady Chargers would be all the offense that Dominican (N.Y.) could muster up against senior right-hander Jenny Riquelme who was nearly perfect in the season-ending win. Riquelme went the full five innings in which she allowed just that one run on three hits with three walks allowed to earn her third win of the season.
Scoring in all five innings, Tomasiello tied the game up in the first with her RBI single and the offense continued in the next inning with an RBI triple from senior shortstop Caitlin DeAngelis as well as an RBI single by graduate outfielder Samantha Riccardulli, giving Post a 3-1 lead up to that point against Baxter who started game two.
Joining the hit parade was freshman outfielder Allysa Calabrese with an RBI single in the third while Riccardulli and Tomasiello went to work in the fourth to continue piling on the runs for Post. In what would be the final inning of the season, the Eagles forced the eight-run mercy rule after five innings after a single from Riccardulli scored one while an error allowed Tomasiello to reach base and plate another before Dickenson sent Post into the offseason with a 9-1 win.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Lily Tomasiello closes the season with nine home runs, tying her for the single-season record set by Megan Pappas (2005) and Erica Ragazzone (2017)
- Caitlin DeAngelis finishes at 17 career home runs keeping her one behind Megan Pappas (18) for third-most in program history and two behind Kayla Kresley (19) for second-most
- Post University closes the year 4-33 when allowing the first run of the game this season and 3-6 when scoring first in a game
- The win in game two for Post University was just the second in the last eight games against Dominican (N.Y.) and also marked the first time this season that the Eagles won by a mercy rule
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