Softball falls in twinbill at Felician

WOOD RIDGE, New Jersey - The American International College softball team fell in both games of a doubleheader, 8-3 and 6-5, against Felician University on Sunday, April 3.

FAST FACTS:
Final Scores: Felician 8, AIC 3; Felician 6, AIC 5
Records: The Golden Falcons rise to 9-10, while the Yellow Jackets drop to 3-17
Location: Wood Ridge Athletic Complex, Wood Ridge, New Jersey

KEY STATS:
Felician:
Game 1:
Mia Martinez: 1-for-1, one double, three RBI, three walks
Vienna Chierchia: Three walks, two runs
Daisha Howard: Two walks, two runs, one stolen base
Alexis DeLaCruz: Win (5-5), 7.0 IP, three runs (two earned), eight hits

Game 2:
Lauren DelCampo: 1-for-2, one home run, three RBI, two runs
Mia Martinez: 2-for-3, two runs
Johanna Rivera: 2-for-3, one RBI
Trinity Garcia: Win (2-0), 3.2 IP, one run, three hits, five strikeouts

AIC:
Game 1:
Kodi Gora: 2-for-4, one run, one RBI
Abigail Wells: 1-for-3, one RBI
Isabella Erti: Loss (1-8), 3.0 IP, three runs (none earned), two hits, five walks

Game 2:
Destiny McGrath: 2-for-3, one double, one run
Victoria Andrade: 1-for-3, one home run
Alexis Jimenez: 1-for-4, one RBI; 3.0 IP, no runs, two hits
Riley Sullivan: Loss (0-6), 2.0 IP, six runs, four hits, four walks

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Alexis Jimenez started the offense for AIC with a two-out single. Leah Twyman then reached on an error, and Kodi Gora made the Golden Falcons pay with an RBI single to center to plate Jimenez.
• The hosts responded in kind in the bottom half. A pair of walks sandwiched around an error loaded the bases, and Victorie Leon hit into a fielder's choice to bring Jaylene Sierra home. Another walk reloaded the bases, and Krystina Lorch stroked a two-run single to left center to give Felician a 3-1 lead.
• The home team added to its advantage in the fourth with a two-out walk and a double by Sierra. AIC came back to score in the fifth, as Destiny McGrath doubled to left and took third on a wild pitch before coming home on a groundout, but three walks and a wild pitch in the home half put Felician ahead 5-2.
• AIC kept battling, and singles by Gora and Macy Ring set up Abigail Wells for an RBI hit to center in the sixth. McGrath walked to load the bases, but the Yellow Jackets could not bring any further runs in, and in the bottom of the sixth, Mia Martinez hit a three-run double after an error and two walks to put the game away.
• Game two went scoreless until the third inning when McGrath doubled to left and Jimenez, now in the circle, helped her own cause with an RBI single. An inning later, Ring reached on an error and Brianna Harzula doubled. Mia Alicea grounded out and Wells singled, with each driving a run home. McGrath and Mackenzie Berman then each had hits, pushing Wells to third, where she scored on a passed ball.
• The Golden Falcons came back in emphatic fashion in the bottom half, with a walk and a single before Lauren DelCampo crushed a three-run shot to left to cut the deficit to 4-3.
• Victoria Andrade drilled a solo home run to left in the top of the sixth, but the bottom half went Felician's way, as a trio of walks with a hit in between pushed a run across. Back-to-back groundouts put runners down, but also allowed runs to score as the Golden Falcons took a 6-5 lead, which proved to be the final score.

FATHER-DAUGHTER DANCE:

• AIC rookie Jaylyn Melendez earned her first two collegiate hits for the Yellow Jackets during the series, smacking a double in the first game on the first pitch she saw in the contest.
• She earned those hits against the Felician squad coached by her father, Herb Melendez.
• All three of Herb Melendez's daughters played college softball; his eldest, Ashley, graduated from LIU Post in 2019, and his middle daughter Samantha played for him at Felician and graduated in 2021.

NEXT UP:

• AIC is slated to return to conference play with a doubleheader against Pace University on Wednesday, April 6 beginning at 2:30 p.m. at Judy Groff Field.