SCHENECTADY, NY -- Freshman pitcher Catherine Ferrara (Port Jefferson, NY) pitched a five inning perfect game in the opener and allowed one hit in the nightcap, and sophomore third baseman Ashley Kovack (Ridgefield, CT) drove in 10 runs on seven hits in two games to lead Union College to a softball sweep over Southern Vermont at Alexander Field Saturday. The Dutchwomen downed the Mountaineers, 24-0 and 22-0, and the run total of 46 eclipsed the doubleheader record of 39 set at Hartwick on April 5, 1994.
The Union record for runs in a single game against an NCAA opponent is 27, set at Skidmore in 1985 and tied at home against Lehman in 1988. The first game total of 24 was the largest run total since the April 27, 1988 27-3 win at Lehman. Ferrara pitched the first Union no-hitter since Jackie Coffey defeated Mount Saint Mary, 6-0 in six innings on March 31, 2006.
Ferrara improved to 4-0 with her two wins. She tossed 10 innings on the day, allowing one hit and striking out 23. In the opener, she struck out the first nine batters and whiffed 11 of the first 12. Mariann Mangiapane (Barnet, VT) led off the fifth and hit a sharp grounder to the right of second base, but Callee Heywood (Innisfail, AB) lunged to her right and made an outstanding play to throw out Mangiapane and preserve the perfect game. Ferrara struck out the final two batters in the fifth to close out the game. She struck out 13 of the 15 batters she faced, while the other two outs were groundouts to Heywood.
In the opener, Union scored seven in the first and 17 in the second. The Dutchwomen sent 22 batters to the plate in the second stanza, and freshman Allie Sirrine (South Windsor, CT) had two homers, including a grand slam, in that inning. Kovack also had three singles in just the third inning, and wound up with four hits and four RBIs in the game. Becky Gronczniak (Mechanicville, NY) had four hits for Union, all coming in the first two stanzas, and the Dutchwomen recorded 23 hits in the opener.
They did the same in the second game, with 22 runs coming on 23 hits. Ferrara posted 10 strikeouts and of her 16 batters, five were ground outs. The lone hit was a single to leadoff the second by Mangiapane, a clean single up the middle. Kovack had a two-run homer and two doubles with a total of six runs driven in, while Heywood, Sirrine and Lucia Reed (Braintree, MA) had three hits each. Union scored in the bottom of each of the four innings at the plate, with five, four, six and seven runs respectively.
Union will be home again Sunday, the fifth home date in eight days. The Dutchwomen will host Liberty League rival Rochester, which entered the week ranked #23 in the latest NFCA Division III poll. Game time for the doubleheader is 11:00 a.m.
Game 1 Box Score
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Game 2 Box Score
