April 3, 2012
Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score | Photo Gallery 
Siena saw a losing streak extend to 10 games Tuesday with a heartbreaking 6-5 loss to Sacred Heart despite a historic accomplishment from junior Shannon Jones. However, behind a furious offensive attack and great pitching from Jessika - Jo Sandrini, the Saints knocked off the Pioneers 7-0 in the nightcap to salvage a split of the first 2012 doubleheader in Loudonville, N.Y.
The Saints (7-16) got on the board first in the opener, with a third-inning solo home run from senior Alyssa Sceppaguercio giving Siena a 1-0 lead. The Green and Gold had an even bigger inning in the fourth, when Nastasha Powlowsky's RBI single, Megan Volz's steal of home, and an RBI knock by Sceppaguercio gave the team a 4-0 advantage.
Sacred Heart, though, tied the game with four runs of their own. All four were unearned, stemming from an infield error, and came with two outs in the fifth on a pair of clutch hits.
Siena came right back, however, when Jones tripled down the right field line in the bottom half of the inning to score Sandrini from first. The RBI was the junior's 100th of her career, and she became just the third player in program history to accomplish the feat.
Unfortunately for the Green and Gold, starting pitcher Amanda Filippazzo yielded Sacred Heart's only two earned runs of the game in the sixth. A two-out, two-run homer proved to be the game-winner, and the senior was handed a hard-luck loss.
Rather than fold following the defeat, though, Siena came out on fire in the second game of the day. The Saints put up four runs in their first turn at bat and cruised from there, ultimately banging out 11 hits in the victory. Jones and Powlowsky both went 3-for-3, with Jones homering and Powlowsky notching a triple and two doubles.
Meanwhile, Sandrini was superb in the circle, pitching a complete-game, six-hit shutout. She struck out six hitters, including four in a row in the first and second innings, and at long last earned her third win of 2012 after several heart-wrenching defeats.
Siena will look to carry their newfound momentum into MAAC play, which begins this Saturday with what figures to be a doubleheader of massive proportions at Canisius. The day's first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Buffalo.
