Pitcher’s Dual Puts John Jay on the Downside

On Wednesday April 10, John Jay and Hen Hud got a good day for some softball, and the starters definitely matched the weather. Through five, Emma Barbelet and Riley Foote mastered the opposing lineups to a 1-0 pitcher’s duel. They didn’t let up the rest of the way either. But the sun had to go down, and so did a final stat line that left one on the losing end.

The Sailors scored two more in the sixth, and after the Wolves got one back in the seventh, Barbelet closed the door in a 3-1 victory.

Even so, Foote came out shining first. After getting Kiely Morley on the fly to center and issuing a walk to Barbelet, the freshman got consecutive ground balls to Laney Daly to end the inning.

The shortstop then led off with a single, and a two out walk to Carys Cooper did leave an opening. But Elise Templeton’s fly to center made it doughnuts across one.

Top two, the John Jay starter, and the shortstop almost put the same foot forward. Following a lead off walk to Angie Carbone, Foote put Daly back in play. The infielder turned two consecutive forces, and next, Foote handled a come backer to to end the inning again.

John Jay had even less of an answer for Barbelet, though. The Sailor struck out Gianna Pelosi, got Skye Volpicella to line out to short and retired the side on Julia Neumann’s ground out to third.

Up to the task, Foote and Daly put it on Hen Hud again. Morley walking with one out, her attempt to steal second was cut down. Templeton fired, Daly slapped down the tag, and Foote got another zero on Emma Johannsen’s pop to short.

Barbelet was knocked off her game by a base runner either. Maria DeGataeno led off with an opposite field single, but two strikeouts and a ground ball made the nice piece of hitting another blip.

So Hen Hud broke the bubble. Ja'Nae Walker reached on a walk, got to second on a wild pitch, and Jasmine Kessler knocked the Hen Hud third baseman in with a single.

A 1-0 game, John Jay looked like they might answer in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, Templeton lined an infield single to third, and Pelosi followed with a single to the same side. A sacrifice bunt by Volpicella put the go ahead run in scoring position, but Neumann’s grounder back to the circle was not enough.

The slim margin for error maintained, Hen Hud proceeded to run themselves out of the fifth. On Barbelet's sacrifice bunt, Morley tried to go all the way to third, and Neumann made the long throw for the second out. Then Johannsen reaching on an error, she was easily cut down by Templeton on the attempted steal.

No bother, Barbelet kept on. After a DeGataeno walk, the Sailor starter got a pop to short and a pair of strikeouts.

That left it to John Jay to give back. With one out, Carbone’s launch to right sent Natalie Sacco on the right trajectory but the right fielder was unable to put the squeeze on the ball. A passed ball put the runner on third, and a walk to Johannsen was actually as good as a hit.

Running down to first, she rounded and meandered toward second. Time called with Foote holding the ball in the circle, the umpire did not reward the request, and when the ball arrived late at second, Carbone took off for run number two.

Johannsen taking third on the throw, the runner failed to tag on McKenna Silverman’s line out to center, and it looked like the damage would be limited. Unfortunately, another ball past the catcher extended the lead to 3-0.

Still, John Jay kept their heads up. Carys Cooper led off with a single to right and a wild pitch set off a merry-go-round. The ball not quickly secured, Cooper’s hesitation toward third had her hung up.

Hen Hud returning the hesitation on the run down, Cooper’s dive back into second sent the ball into center, and she came all the way round to score.

Down two, Foote kept her team in the game with a scoreless seventh, but Barbelet simply maintained. Three up and three down and great show by these two pitchers was over.