WORCESTER, MA – It isn't too often that standalone games take place in collegiate softball, and extra innings do not come frequently either, but Siena Softball has seen success in both situations this season. The Saints (29-12) improved to 5-2 in standalone action and a perfect 3-0 in extra innings on the year with an eight-inning, 3-2 triumph over Holy Cross (14-29-1) at Freshman Field in Worcester, Massachusetts on Thursday.

Competing in a twice rescheduled non-conference affair that was reduced to a single game, the host team struck first with an RBI single in the bottom of the opening frame to pull ahead. The Saints responded in the next half inning with an RBI double from senior Emma McLaughlin – who saw action in the outfield for the first time in her collegiate career – to knot the game at one.

A pitcher's duel then ensued between Siena's Ava Fitzmaurice and Holy Cross's Sophia Roncone, with the Saints stranding five and the Crusaders leaving nine base runners stranded during regulation. With a runner placed on second due to non-conference action, Siena took charge of its second extra-inning affair in five days with a pair of runs in the top of the eighth, including an RBI groundout from Fitzmaurice that scored redshirt-junior Diana Parker and an RBI double from senior Angelina Stile to score junior Isabella Pardo. Holy Cross got a run back in the bottom of the frame an RBI double, but stranded the bases loaded as Fitzmaurice ended the game by tossing a strikeout swinging.

The Greenville, New York native improved to 11-4 with nine strikeouts on the day in the circle, while Rancone dropped to 6-14 on the year with a pair of K's. Pardo and Stile both steadied Siena offensively with multi-hit games, with the latter inching closer to her 100^th collegiate hit at 96 total.

Siena's five-game road trip is scheduled to continue on Saturday, April 22 against new MAAC foe Mount St. Mary's in Emmitsburg, Maryland, with doubleheader action set for Noon and 2 PM.