NEW HAVEN, Conn. - On Friday the Albertus Magnus College softball team will embark on its quest for its second Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) title as they take on the Simmons University Sharks in a best-of-three championship series.
GNAC Championship Series Schedule (All games at Simmons University)
Game 1: Friday, May 8th, 5 p.m.
Game 2: Sunday, May 10th, Noon
Game 3: Sunday, May 10th, 2 p.m. (if nec.)
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | DIRECTIONS to Daly Field Athletic Complex, Brighton, Mass.
HOW THEY GOT HERE
Albertus Magnus | 25-17, 14-4 GNAC | Roster | Schedule | Stats | Seed: 1S
Albertus, the top seed in the GNAC South advanced to the championship series after going 4-1 in Pod B. The Falcons opened up pod play with a convincing 9-1 win over Lasell on Wednesday behind a 3-for-4 performance from Amelia Boulli (Torrington, Conn.) where she drove in two runs and scored one and a five-inning complete game from Annabelle Jabs (East Hartland, Conn.), who struck out three batters.
The Falcons fell to Rivier, 3-2 in the first game of the weekend of pod play, but kept their season alive with a dramatic 7-6 come-from-behind win over Saint Joseph's College of Maine. The Falcons fell behind 5-0 early in the game before scoring four runs in the bottom of the fifth to close their deficit to a run. Down to their final out in the bottom of the seventh, Mikaela Schwippert (Whippany, N.J.) delivered an RBI single to centerfield to send the game into extra innings. After the Monks regained the lead in the top of the 10th inning, the Falcons tied the game on an RBI single by Reilly Austin (Cumberland, R.I.) and Izzy Barreiro (Brookfield, Conn.) singled to score Austin to cap the comeback and advance the Falcons to Sunday's must-win games against Rivier.
In the first game against the Raiders, Gina Solow (Fairfield, Conn.) went 2-for-4 with two runs and Jabs picked up her second win of the tournament, throwing five innings and striking out two while allowing just one earned run. In the second game the Falcons cored 12 runs over the last three innings on their way to a 13-1 win to advance to their first GNAC Championship appearance since 2015. Isabelle Smith (Meriden, Conn.) went 2-for-3 with three runs. Austin went 2-for-4 with two doubles, two runs and three RBI. Amelia Ovalles (Lawrence, Mass.) hit a bases loaded triple and Boulli hit a double and scored two runs while driving in two more. Jabs picked up her second win of the day as she threw five more innings, striking out four and allowing just one earned run.
Simmons | 23-18, 14-4 GNAC | Roster | Schedule | Stats | Seed: 1N
The Sharks - who earned the top seed in the GNAC North - shut out Emmanuel 3-0 in the first day of Pod A as Zoe Soule drove in two runs. Piper Kinney threw a seven inning complete game shutout, striking out nine and allowing just six hits.
During the weekend, the Sharks scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to defeat the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.), 3-1, moving them to the Pod A final on Sunday. Abigail Carvalho, Zoe Soule and Nevaeh Eth each had RBI singles and Kinney pitched another complete game, throwing seven innings and striking out six and allowing just one run on five hits.
In the Pod A final, the Sharks defeated Emmanuel once again, 7-2 to advance to their GNAC Championship Series. Carvalho was 2-for-3 with three runs. Soule was 1-for-2 with two runs and an RBI and Eth was 2-for-4 with a run and two RBI. Kinney pitched her third complete game of the tournament, striking out six batters while allowing just one earned run on eight hits and three walks.
WHEN THEY LAST MET
The two teams opened up their respective GNAC seasons on March 21st, with Albertus sweeping Simmons with a 3-2 win in ten innings in game one followed by an 8-2 win in game two.
In game one, the Falcons tied the game in the bottom of the ninth with an RBI single and Boulli drove in the game-winning run on a single in the bottom of the tenth to lift the Falcons to victory. Jabs struck out six batters in eight innings for the Falcons and Madison Wilson (Belgrade, Maine) earned the win in relief. Kinney struck out 12 for Simmons.
In game two, Austin drove in three runs and Schwippert went 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI in the win. The Falcons scored four runs in the second inning and three more in the third to take command. Karla Carangelo (Cheshire, Conn.) earned the win, throwing four innings and striking out two without allowing a run. Ovalles earned the save with three innings of relief.
CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
ALBERTUS
- 1-1 all-time in GNAC Championship
- Titles: (1) 1997
- Last Championship Appearance: 2015
SIMMONS
- 2-2 all-time in GNAC Championship
- Titles: (2) 2024, 2023
- Last Championship Appearance: 2024
ALL-TIME SERIES
Simmons leads the all-time series against Albertus, 25-15.
