SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Sophomore utility player Allysa Calabrese did a little bit of everything for Post University Softball to help the Eagles split their non-conference doubleheader against American International College (AIC) on Tuesday afternoon. After losing game one, 7-6, Calabrese's 4-for-5 performance at the plate in game two, which featured her first collegiate home run, as well as her three scoreless innings of relief, helped the Eagles complete their comeback for a 9-5 road win. 

THE BASICS

Post University 6, AIC 7

Post University 9, AIC 5

Post University (4-28)

AIC (9-15)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Game 1: Post University 6, AIC 7
Taking their only lead of the game in the second inning, freshman utility player Alexandra Bisceglia and freshman outfielder Isabella Oliver plated a pair of runs for the Eagles via their RBI singles, making it a 2-0 game. However, it would not be long before the Yellow Jackets responded, scoring five unanswered runs across the next two innings against senior right-hander Alyssa Hughes to grab the upper hand in the affair. 

Senior infielder Sammy Sanchez led that five-run charge, driving home two runs in two innings, as did senior utility player Brooklyn Cividanes with her two-run single that put AIC ahead by three, 5-2. Down by three after both teams exchanged a run with six outs to work with, freshman utility player Hannah Searles started the rally with her RBI single in the sixth. 

Two more run-scoring hits in the seventh from freshman utility player Angelica Tompkins and senior infielder Brooke Dickenson tied the game up at six, while Tompkins was gunned out at home by sophomore outfielder Isabella Viola, trying to give the Eagles the lead on Dickenson's hit with two outs. 

However, a leadoff double from junior first baseman Julia Krijigsman in the bottom of the frame helped the Yellow Jackets avoid a collapse. Loading the bases with one out against Hughes, Cividanes would draw a walk, ending the game with a 7-6 win for AIC on a walk-off walk. 

Game 2: Post University 9, AIC 5
For the second straight game, it was the Eagles on the scoreboard first, doing it in style with Calabrese's first collegiate home run, a two-run shot, in the third inning off of freshman right-hander Gabrielle Lambert. But like in game one, the Yellow Jacket response featured five unanswered runs, all of which came in the bottom of the third against sophomore left-hander Devin Barnett. 

An RBI single from freshman third baseman Neveah Trejo, followed by a wild pitch from Barnett, tied the game at two all, and no sooner after, AIC jumped in front with a two-run double off the bat of junior utility player Jilien Ayala. Senior second basemen Taylor Murphy rounded out the scoring for AIC in the inning and game with her RBI single, lifting them to that 5-2 advantage. 

The rest of the game would be owned by Post, scoring the next seven runs of the afternoon to force a doubleheader split with a 9-5, come-from-behind win.  Lambert would get tagged with five runs in the 4 2/3 innings she threw in her start, allowing five hits while striking out six and walking four. LaValley, who threw at the end of game one for the Yellow Jackets, would allow four runs (one earned) in the tie ballgame across the sixth and seventh innings.

Senior infielder Bailey Dickenson gave the Eagles the lead back for good with her sacrifice fly to right, while three more runs on a muffed throw on junior catcher Brianna Hynds' infield hit and an RBI single from senior third baseman Nyla Sapia, allowed Post to garner some breathing room. The three runs came after Calabrese, who entered the circle in the fifth inning for Barnett, was able to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth with two outs, getting Ayala to pop out to Tompkins.

Calabrese would work a scoreless seventh inning, closing out her third win of the season on the mound after allowing just two hits in three innings of work with two walks and a strikeout. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• Allysa Calabrese finished game two with a 4-for-5 game, recording a home run, two doubles, three runs scored, and two RBIs – Calabrese also picked up the relief win after throwing three scoreless innings in which she allowed just two hits 
•  In her last six games, Brooke Dickenson had recorded six hits after entering the Bloomfield doubleheader with seven hits on the season – Dickenson was 3-for-8 in today's doubleheader with two RBIs and a run scored
• Scoring nine runs in game two, that was the most runs Post University has scored in a game this season and most since March 22nd, 2024, when they beat AIC at home, scoring 12 runs in a 12-4 win 
• After both programs had stretches with multiple game winning streaks against each other, Post University and AIC have split the last three doubleheaders they have had, after the Eagles won the previous three matchups before that 

WHO'S NEXT
Part of what will be eight games across a four-day stretch, Post University returns home for its penultimate home doubleheader against Felician University at 2:00 pm tomorrow afternoon at LaMoy Field. The Eagles have lost five of the last six matchups since 2023 against the Golden Falcons, winning one game last year during their spring trip to Florida, 8-7.