Flushing, N.Y. - Queens College sophomore catcher, Kylie Spillett, came through with a clutch, RBI double that drove in the games only run in a 1-0 win over NYIT in the opening round of the East Coast Conference championship from the Queens College softball field in Flushing on Thursday. The game featured strong pitching performances from Carly Wade and Isabelle Yaroch.
Yaroch threw six innigs to earn the win. She scatterd four hits and struck out three. ToniMarie Valeriano got all three outs in the seventh to earn her second save of the season. For the Bears, Wade was the hard luck loser.
With strong pitching and sparkling defense from both sides, runs were at a premium, and it looked like the Knights would strike first in the third inning. After an out, Alicia Gonzalez walked and reached third on a Valeriano base hit. Monique Roberge followed with a pop-up on the lip of the infield that was caught by the shortstop. Gonzalez tagged and tried to score, but was gunned down at the plate to keep the game scoreless.
It stayed deadlocked at 0-0 until the bottom of the sixth. Samantha Mattsson was on first following a fielder's choice. From there, Spillett connected on her second hit of the day - a double to the wall in left-center. Mattsson raced around and slid safely into home.
NYIT countered in the seventh when the first two batters reached base. Valeriano relieved Yaroch and got the first out on a ground out to first. The next batter popped up and final batter was struck out. QC held on for a 1-0 win.
With they victory, the Knights advance in the winner's bracket of the Championship. They will face the victors from game one, LIU Post, at 11:00 AM on Friday, May 1. The Pioneers will be the home team in that game.
Provided by the Queens Sports Information Department.
