Blue Jays Fly By Wildcats 11-3

Saint Joseph (Conn.) used a 12-hit attack and a decisive first-inning swing to pull away from Bay Path, 11–3, in five innings Wednesday evening at the USJ Softball Field in West Hartford, Connecticut.

Bay Path struck first with a pair of runs in the top of the first. Taylor Moreau delivered an RBI single to left to bring home Madison Tessmer, then Moreau swiped second base and Madison Sunderland came home on the throw for a quick 2–0 lead. That early edge didn't last long.

Saint Joseph answered immediately and emphatically in the bottom half. With runners on, Gabby Marichal ripped a bases-clearing triple to right-center to flip the game, and the Blue Jays tacked on another run in the inning when Gracie Browne laid down a bunt single that brought Marichal home. The four-run response made it 4–2 after one and set the tone the rest of the way.

The Blue Jays kept building the lead in the second and third. Kaitlyn Ouellette doubled in a run in the second and later scored as Marichal drove in another with a groundout to make it 6–2. In the third, Saint Joseph pushed across three more—highlighted by Ouellette's RBI single and a two-run double by Madelyn Ellis—stretching the margin to 9–2. Several of those third-inning runs were unearned, as Bay Path was charged with one error.

Bay Path's final run came in the fourth when Sunderland singled to right to score Ariana Rivard, cutting the deficit to 9–3. Saint Joseph ended any comeback hopes in the fifth as Ellis tripled in a run and Kayla Phelps followed with an RBI single to close the scoring at 11–3.

Ellis powered the Blue Jays' offense, going 2-for-3 with a double, a triple, and three RBIs. Marichal drove in four with her first-inning triple and an RBI groundout, while Ouellette finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs and scored three times. Saint Joseph's lineup also got multi-hit games from Jennifer Antonowicz and Rachel Brewer-Karimi, and Browne added a key RBI bunt single.

In the circle, Ouellette earned the win with five innings, allowing just two hits and three runs while striking out five. Bay Path pitchers Kaitlyn Kerstetter (loss) and Jenna Boudreau combined to allow 12 hits and 11 runs (eight earned).

The result moved Saint Joseph (Conn.) to 12–8, while Bay Path fell to 9–11. Attendance was 51.