(Riverdale, NY) – Freshman
Jessica Riddle (Billerica, MA/Billerica HS) enjoyed perhaps the finest game of her young career with another spectacular performance on the mound, and a three-run home run during the third inning to lead Mount Saint Vincent past Skyline Conference foe Mount Saint Mary, 4-3 during the opening game of a doubleheader with the Blue Knights on Wednesday. After dropping the night-cap, 6-2, the Dolphins are 11-22 overall and 3-11 in Skyline Conference play, but they are also 9-4 during their last 13 games as the regular season winds down.
Riddle, who is 4-2 with a 1.18 Earned Run Average during her last six starts, allowed a two-run home run during the first inning, but then settled in for an outstanding game. The rookie allowed only four hits and one earned run over seven innings while striking out three and walking two batters. And she was equally outstanding at the plate, blasting Mount Saint Vincent's first home run of the 2006 season in the bottom of the third inning, a home run that scored both Dana McGuire (East Setauket, NY/Ward Melville HS) and Jillian Troncoso (West Haverstraw, NY/North Rockland HS) to give the Mount a 3-2 lead.
The Blue Knights (13-21, 7-9 Skyline Conference) tied the score in the top of the sixth inning, setting up a dramatic win for the Mount in the home half of the seventh inning. Consecutive singles by Amanda Prendergast (Fair Lawn, NJ/ Paramus Catholic) and Gina Angolillo (West Harrison, NY/Harrison HS) were followed by a McGuire walk that brought Nabela Tahir (Flushing, NY/Cardozo HS) with the winning run on third. Tahir promptly walked to drive in the winning run and give the Mount their most stirring Skyline Conference win of the season.
The Mount managed only five hits during the game, but six Mount Saint Mary walks allowed the Dolphins to keep things close and ultimately win.
The night-cap was a thriller for much of the game as Mount Saint Vincent opened the scoring in the first inning on an RBI single by Troncoso. The Blue Knights responded with a run of their own in the top of the second inning, but the Dolphins took their final lead of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning when Jackie Rizzotto (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac HS) singled home Riddle. The lead held until the top of the sixth inning when Mount Saint Mary scored four times to blow the game open and leave with a split. Senior Krista Roberts (Wilmington, MA/Wilmington HS) was outstanding on the mound, pitching five strong innings and allowing four earned runs before being replaced by Riddle in the fifth. Riddle allowed two earned runs during two innings of work, and also went 2 for 3 at the plate.
Mount Saint Vincent returns to action on Thursday, April 27 when they travel to the College of New Rochelle for a 4:00 p.m. Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference (HVWAC) doubleheader.
