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Box Score 2 MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The Felician University softball team began its 2017 season by splitting a pair of non-conference games at the Snowbird Freeze-Out event on Friday at the Ned Donkle Complex. Felician defeated Clarion University, 11-0, in its morning game, before losing to Le Moyne College, 8-2, later on Friday.
The victory in the morning game was the first in the collegiate coaching career of first-year Felician mentor Alexis Durando of Hoboken. The triumph also marked the 20th career win for Golden Falcon junior pitcher Ashley Owens (Lockport, N.Y.), who tossed a five-inning, two hit shutout.
Against Clarion, Felician saw a seven-run second inning rally jump-started by freshman designated player Nicole Spiegelberg (Blauvelt, N.Y.). Leading off the frame, Spiegelberg hit a home run in her first collegiate plate appearance. The Golden Falcons added five more hits in the inning, including RBI singles by Bella Davis (Chula Vista, Calif.) and Zeaenna Brackett (Woodbury, N.J.) and a run-scoring double from Jackie Duenas (Riverside, Calif.), and took advantage of two Golden Eagle errors.
A two-run triple from Brackett highlighted a three-run third inning, and an RBI groundout from Brittney Lazar (Seaford, N.Y.) in the fourth completed the scoring.
Owens struck out four batters and walked none, and did not allow a Clarion runner to reach third base. She is the seventh pitcher in program history to reach 20 wins. Brackett drove in three runs, while she, Duenas and Mia Montoya (Cypress, Calif.) had two hits each.
Felician managed only three base hits in its setback to Le Moyne on Friday afternoon. The designated visiting team, the Golden Falcons moved ahead in the top of the first when Brackett led off with an infield hit, stole second base, moved up on a fly ball, and came home on Racquel Manzo's (Whittier, Calif.) sacrifice fly.
The Dolphins, however, tallied two runs on just one hit in the bottom of the first, then pulled away with a four-run second. Le Moyne senior Courtney Case (Pittsford, N.Y.) lined a two-run double in the sixth to cap her team's scoring, and Lazar provided the final margin with an RBI groundout in the seventh.
Montoya and Steph Donah (Clark, N.J.) garnered the other Felician hits. Ally Nicolosi (Auburn, N.Y.) was 3 for 4 and Sabrina Riley (Deer Park, N.Y.) drove in four runs for the Dolphins.
