By Dylan Butler
Set a record, break a record.
After tying the St. Francis College softball record for home runs in a season with five last year, senior Alex Richardson from Jamaica has shattered the mark with a pair of homers this weekend to increase her total to seven.
And with 18 games left in the regular season, the former St. Francis Prep standout has the chance to build on that record.
Richardson, who was more known for her pitching than her hitting at St. Francis Prep, hit the record-breaking dinger against Northeast Conference rival Mount St. Mary’s Saturday.
With Christina Brovakos at second and former Bryant standout Tanya Banzil at first, Richardson ripped the first pitch over the centerfield fence to give the Terriers a 3-0 lead in the sixth inning.
Richardson also got the win for St. Francis College, tossing a six-hitter in the 3-2 win.
Richardson, who started 30 of the Terriers’ 31 games and leads the team in almost every offensive category, including batting average (.400), hits (34) and RBIs (25), added a two-run blast in the fourth inning of second game of a doubleheader at University of Maryland-Baltimore County Sunday in a 7-4 loss.
On the mound, Richardson is 4-9 with a 3.06 ERA and 67 strikeouts in 80 innings.
Another Queens resident also had a great week for the St. Francis College baseball team as Howard Beach resident Jason Iorio batted .524 (11-for-21) last week with four RBIs and four stolen bases in five attempts.
The Christ the King product hit .600 in league play and has an eight-game hitting streak heading into play this week.
Grabkowitz earns CUNY honors
Kim Grabkowitz, a freshman catcher on the John Jay softball team, was named CUNY softball rookie of the week after batting .571 (20-for-35) during the Bloodhounds 8-1 week. The Bayside graduate hit five home runs, including one in each of John Jay’s last four games. She is second on the team with a .510 batting average, which is also good for fifth in the conference. She also leads CUNY with eight doubles and is fourth with 25 runs scored.
Baseball
Concordia 23, Queens College 12. John Aluska was 4-for-5 with three RBIs and Nick Gulotta was 5-for-6 with two RBIs, but it wasn’t enough as the Knights were swept by New York Collegiate Athletic Conference foe Concordia Sunday in Bronxville. Queens (4-19, 4-13) also dropped a doubleheader at Concordia Saturday, 8-0 and 13-3.
St. John’s 9, Georgetown 5. Greg Holmes allowed two earned runs to improve to 4-1 and the Red Storm scored five runs in the seventh inning in the nightcap of a doubleheader sweep of Big East rival Georgetown Friday at The Ballpark at St. John’s. Ray Downs was 2-for-3 with three RBIs and Chad Cambra was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored for the Red Storm.
St. John’s 5, Georgetown 4. Jim Martin’s single through the right side scored Jason Kane, who doubled to lead off the 10th inning, to give the Red Storm a dramatic win in the opener of the doubleheader.
Softball
Boston College 4, St. John’s 3. Jessica Shepherd’s single through the left side of the infield drove in two runs to give St. John’s (17-22-1, 5-7) a 2-1 lead in the fifth inning, but Boston College (18-19, 7-3) responded with three-runs in the bottom of the inning to put the Eagles in front, 4-2. Kelly Houghton led off the seventh inning with her second home run of the year, but that was as close as the Red Storm would get Sunday in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Boston College 2, St. John’s 0. Kim Ryan handcuffed the Red Storm, scattering three hits and striking out six to earn the shutout. The Eagles broke a scoreless tie with a pair of sixth inning runs as Jen Asbury and Kim Mackey delivered RBI singles.
Queens College 2, Concordia 1. Lauren Wells hurled a no-hitter, striking out seven to lead the Lady Knights to a doubleheader sweep of Concordia Saturday. Fran Piazza was 1-for-3 with a home run and Kathy Blake added an RBI-triple for Queens (14-12, 8-6 NYCAC).
Queens College 7, Concordia 2. Piazza paced the Lady Knights in the first game, going 1-for-4 with three RBIs while Stephanie Santoro was 1-for-1 with one RBI and three runs scored.
Reach Associate Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 143.
