LOUDONVILLE, NY — Crosstown rivals renew their battle on the diamond Wednesday, as Siena Softball hosts UAlbany for a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m. on Apr. 8 in Loudonville.
Brett Bosley and Joe Lemery will have the call for both games on ESPN+, with live stats and updates on X also available via the corresponding links.
Winners of seven straight and 12 of their last 13, the Saints enter the midweek matchup backed by one of the nation's top-35 pitching staffs in ERA.
Gracie Goewey continued her dominant stretch with a complete-game shutout in Saturday's opener against Rider, becoming just the 10th player in program history to reach 200 career strikeouts. In game two,
Violet Marta picked up her team-leading ninth win, allowing just two runs.
Goewey ranks tied for 68th nationally with 7.2 strikeouts per seven innings, while Marta has thrived on limiting free passes. She ranks 32nd nationally with just 1.32 walks allowed per seven innings and is tied for 45th with a 1.09 WHIP.
Offensively, Siena has embraced a true "pass the baton" approach, with production coming from throughout the lineup.
Ella Milante delivered the walk-off RBI single in game one against Rider, while
Chloe Cummings continued her consistent, team-first play. The junior went 3-for-5 across the doubleheader with a double, two RBI, and a run scored. Cummings leads the nation in sacrifice bunt attempts per game and remains one of the toughest hitters to strike out, fanning just once in 78 at-bats.
UAlbany enters Wednesday at 15-13 overall and 4-5 in America East play, powered by a lineup that ranks 83rd nationally with a .309 team batting average. Six regulars are hitting .315 or better, led by Sara Anderson and Kasey Conn at .375. Mary Kate Murray (.346) leads the team with five home runs, while Katie Parisi paces the Great Danes with 26 RBI and a .670 slugging percentage.
In the circle, UAlbany has relied heavily on a three-pitcher rotation that has accounted for 94% of the team's innings. Hailey Errichiello (5-7, 4.04 ERA) leads the staff with 71.0 innings pitched, followed by Hayley Wieczerzak (4-2, 1.97 ERA) with 53.1 innings and Julia Pike (5-2, 3.60 ERA) with 46.2.
Wednesday's doubleheader marks the 81st and 82nd all-time meetings between the programs, with UAlbany holding a 62-18 edge in the series. Despite that margin, Siena has won each of the last two matchups, including a 5-4 victory earlier this season on Mar. 11 in Albany. In that contest, Marta earned the win and Goewey recorded the save with a clean seventh inning. Goewey and
Emma Petersen each homered, while Milante and
Gianna DiMeglio combined to drive in three runs in the decisive sixth.
The doubleheader also marks the teams' first meeting in Loudonville since Apr. 14, 2016, when the sides split.
Following Wednesday's games, Siena travels to Manhattan for a three-game MAAC series Apr. 11-12. The series begins with a doubleheader at noon on Saturday and concludes with a single game at noon Sunday, with the finale set to take place at Bahoshy Field on the campus of Fordham in the Bronx, NY.
