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John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
Scarantine at the plate
John Carroll's bats erupted for a huge day in the opener.
14
Winner John Carroll JCUSB 1-0
4
BEREA BEREA 0-1
Winner
John Carroll JCUSB
1-0
14
Final
4
BEREA BEREA
0-1
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 R H E
John Carroll JCUSB 2 0 5 1 3 3 14 15 1
BEREA BEREA 2 0 0 2 0 0 4 7 2

W: DeBord, Katie (1-0) L: McIntosh, Madison (0-1)

Game Recap: Softball | | Joe Ginley '16, SID

Softball Starts 2022 on a Great Note with a Florida Win over Berea

CLERMONT, Fla. -- Opening Day of the 2022 season proved to be quite eventful for John Carroll Softball.

Originally scheduled to play two games, the Blue Streaks only ended up playing one, as an umpire shortage caused a cancelation of JCU's second game of the day vs. Pitt Greensburg.

Despite this, the Blue Streaks still enjoyed quite the season opener, thundering to a 14-4 conquest of Berea (KY) in the first game of the new season. The Blue Streaks experienced no jet lag, with a plethora of stolen bases and runs.

Gracie Bressoud kicked off the season with a walk, and promptly stole a base for the Blue Streaks, in hopefully an indicator of more good things to come for the star outfielder. Crista Nativio also reached base on a single. Both would come around to score in the first frame, opening a quick 2-0 lead for JCU.

Berea provided a quick response. The Mountaineers kickstarted the bottom of the first with a single and then a 2-run homer to knot the game at two. 

The score stood that way until a marvelous third inning for John Carroll. The Blue Streaks opened the inning with three straight hits. Nativio tabbed a single, Maddie Traub launched a double, and Kristen Jesberger slotted a single. All three would score. Mallory Stonebraker kept the fun alive with a single and Lexie Genovese powered it further with a single of her own. Kasyn Scarantine then clobbered a clutch triple, busting the game wide open. When the dust settled, JCU stood ahead, 7-2, entering the bottom frame. 

Nativio stayed hot at the dish with a single to start the fourth. She later crossed the plate, stretching the advantage to 8-2. Berea answered with a couple runs thanks to some extra-base hits, slimming the margin to 8-4 after four. But those would be the final runs that pitcher Katie DeBord would allow.

The offense ensured no comeback effort for the foes from Kentucky. Jess Lichota got JCU's third-straight inning-opening hit. Genovese walked to help to set the table for Scarantine, who delivered yet again. The hard-hitting catcher crushed a double. Bressoud followed with a double of her own, and the Blue Streaks suddenly stood with a commanding 11-4 lead.

Berea's bat stood silent in the bottom of the fifth, but JCU did not stand quiet in the top of the sixth. While Berea did coax an out to start the inning, Serena Paterno reached out on a 1-out error. Genovese walked again to provide another chance for JCU's big bats to step up. Bressoud and Nativio did just that, with nice hits to lengthen the lead to 14-4, enough for a run-rule win. 

DeBord did her job in the sixth, ensuring the game did not continue any longer. The ace finished things off with little difficulty to tally the team's first win of the season.

The Blue Streaks ended with double-digit steals in the victory. The offense was not lacking, with a final tally of 15 hits. Scarantine's 3-for-4 day from the No. 9 hole stands out, as does Nativio's nifty 3-for-4 performance. Bressoud's speed was on full display, with a total of 3 steals.

And you can't ignore JCU's great defense. A SportsCenter Top 10 worthy moment happened for JCU in the field. On a scorching liner, Lexie Genovese dove to her left, stretching to snatch the ball as it screamed up the middle. Genovese couldn't quite manage to glove it, but she got a piece of it. The ball bounced into Alyssia Carmichael's barehand embrace for a marvelous play that the Blue Streaks will be talking about for a while. 

On the mound, DeBord got the credit for the win, hopefully the first of many this season.

John Carroll now turns its attention to Monday's action. The Blue Streaks have a doubleheader in store, facing Rivier University at 3:15 pm and Gordon College at 5:30 pm. 
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