The College of Staten Island softball program continued their dominant win streak this afternoon with a pair of wins over Purchase College to extend the streak to 11 in a row.  The Dolphins cruised to a 7-1 victory in game one followed by a 5-0 shutout in game two. The pair of win as the CSI Softball Complex keeps the Dolphins perfect at home this season and bumps their record up to 15-3. The Panthers, who came into today's games off of a win, falls to 3-9 overall.
 
Game 1: Staten Island 7, Purchase College 1
 
The Dolphins played in their first seven inning game since March 30th and were able to come out on top with a dominating performance. Jacqueline Cautela started in the circle for the Dolphins and once again proved why she is best pitcher in the country.  Cautela came into today's doubleheader with a nation leading 0.19 ERA and was able to lower it to 0.15 against the Panthers after not allowing an earned run. Cautela helped her own cause as well by going 1-for-4 at the plate and collecting two RBIs and scoring a run in the process. The win improved Cautela's record to 7-0 on the year.
 
Staten Island got on the board immediately in the bottom of the first with three runs after blanking the Panthers to start the game. Antoinette Galbo was able to get the Dolphins going with a sing to center field after lead-off hitter Cautela flied out to the center fielder Kelly Hayes. Freshman standout Patricia Riches would move Galbo over to third with a double to left center.  As Galbo was running to third Nicole Fortuna attempted to throw her out from right field but flew past the third baseman, allowing Galbo to score and give the Dolphins their first run of the game. In a bizarre turn of events, Riches was caught in a pickle on the third base line which allowed Vanessa Jioia to trot over to second base uncontested.  Riches was eventually able to get out of the pickle and steal home adding to the Dolphins' lead. Kristy Colangelo was next up at the dish and grounded out to the pitcher but the groundout allowed Jioia to score from third.
 
Both teams would be held scoreless in the following two innings and it wasn't until the fourth inning that the crowd was treated with a four-run inning by the Dolphins. Colangelo would rip a hard shot to Victoria Capone-Froio at shortshop.  Capone-Froio made a nice grab but was unable to make the throw in time allowing Colangelo to reach first safely. Staten Island did not hold back their bats as they continued to keep the pressure on the fielder's.  Jamie Holmes battled in a 1-2 count and slugged one up the middle of the field to push Ashley Notaro to second base.  Both would advance a base after a wild pitch, putting them both in scoring position. Cautela drove them both home with a single to right field to increase the Dolphins' lead.
 
The Panthers would find their way onto the board in the sixth inning of play, an inning which saw the Dolphins commit two errors. After Cautela forced Briana Leon to ground out, Kelly Hayes singled to short center field, giving the Panthers their fourth hit of the game. The first error of the inning came when Kristen Meagher tried to get Kelly Hayes out at second but threw it wide of the mark allowing her to move over to third. Cautela picked up her sixth strikeout of the contest to put two outs up on the board in the final inning of play.  However, on that play Cautela would miss her mark at third which sent Kelly Hayes home before Rachel Stockinger was thrown out at second.  That run is also the first run the Dolphins have given up since March 30th.
 
Holmes finished the first game 2-for-3 with a run while Colangelo would finish 1-for-3 with an RBI. Riches also played well and kept her batting average first on the squad by going 2-for-3 with a run.
 
Game 2: Staten Island 5, Purchase College 0

Nicolette Trapani was handed the ball to start game two for the Dolphins in the circle.  Trapani lowered her ERA to 1.11 while increasing her record to 6-2 overall.  Trapani dazzled in the circle, allowing just five hits with two strikeouts. The shutout is the second of the season for Trapani and she sits second on the team with 44.0 innings pitched and 33 strikeouts.
 
Much like game one, the Dolphins were the first time to put a mark on the scoreboard. Cautela started the Dolphins off on the right foot as she would crush the ball over the left field wall for her second home run of the year.  Riches would once again find the gap in the outfield for a single and would not be stranded on the bases as Colangelo singled over the first baseman's head to score Riches after Riches was able to put herself in scoring position by stealing second.
 
The Dolphins were much better in the field in the second game, committing just one error which did not lead to a run.  CSI was held scoreless for three straight innings but was able to open up their lead in the bottom of the fifth after the Panthers threatened to score. CSI tallied three runs in the fifth inning to jump out to a 5-0 lead.
 
Cautela hit a hard grounder at April Uhl and was able to beat out the throw despite the clean grab.  Galbo laid down a perfectly placed bunt and was able to reach first and advance Cautela over to second. Nicole Fortuna would record her second error of the day when she missed her mark at third, allowing Cautela to score after the ball went past the third baseman. Colangelo would lay down a bunt just a few batters later to score Galbo from third.  The inning would come to a close for the Dolphins when Holmes fouled out to the catcher.
 
The Dolphins would not make any costly mistakes at the end of the second game, allowing them to walk away unscathed for the 9th time this season. 
 
Colangelo finished game two 2-for-3 with a team-high two RBIs, while Cautela finished a perfect 3-for-3 with a single RBI and a pair of runs.
 
Staten Island will return to action on Friday, April 14 when they will take on Western Connecticut in a non-conference doubleheader at the CSI Softball Complex starting at 1:00 pm.