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ALBANY – Home runs from senior Kari Bird and junior Taylor Snyder allowed The College of Saint Rose softball team to complete a two-game sweep of Northeast-10 Conference and Upstate Challenge rival Le Moyne Wednesday afternoon in its home debut at Cathy Haker Field, downing the Dolphins 6-5 and 3-2.
 
The Golden Knights bounced back from a pair of losses at Post on Tuesday, and improved to 8-10 overall, and 3-2 in the NE-10, while Le Moyne fell to 7-6, 1-4.
 
Trailing by three heading into the bottom of the third in game one, Bird ignited a four-run inning as she led off with her first homer of the season over the left field fence. Saint Rose loaded up the bases following Bird's bomb, and brought junior Tina Karaqi to the plate, who cranked out a three RBI double to left center, giving the Golden Knights a one-run lead.
 
The Dolphins tied the game up in their next at-bat with a RBI single to left from sophomore Courtney Case.
 
Saint Rose picked up two more runs in the fifth and regained the lead, starting with freshman Taylor Solomon's lead-off double to left. She moved to third as sophomore Carly Wood singled, also to left, and advanced to second on the throw. Le Moyne made a pitching change in an effort to hold of the Golden Knights, bringing in junior Toni Secreti for freshman Alexis Eastman, but it would not be enough as Karaqi stepped up again and sent Solomon home as she reached on an error from second baseman junior Meagan Marlarky. Junior Zoe DuBois gave Saint Rose the lead as she sent a sacrifice fly to right, and gave Wood the chance to scoot home.
 
The Dolphins could only muster one more run off a sacrifice fly to right center from junior Mackenzie Dreher in the sixth.
 
Sophomore Renee Vaiano (3-4) threw a complete game for Saint Rose, fanning four batters and giving up five runs, four of them earned.
 
Karaqi picked up her fifth RBI of the day as she put Saint Rose on the board in game two. With Wood and Solomon on second and third, respectively, the Thornwood, N.Y., native grounded out to short, but gave Solomon the chance to get home on the throw.
 
The Golden Knights kept momentum going and capped their scoring in the second as senior Alexis Williams led off the inning with a single to left center. Williams had an easy run home as Snyder stepped up next and sent her first career homer to left.
 
Le Moyne nabbed its two runs off a RBI single in the fourth and a groundout RBI in the sixth.
 
Picking up her fifth win of the season, junior Nicole Wickham (5-5), threw seven solid innings from the circle, giving up seven hits and striking out two.
 
Bird led from the plate with a 5-for-6 performance and one RBI on the day, followed by Wood at 4-for-5 and Solomon at 3-for-7.
 
Hitting the field for the fifth time in three days, Saint Rose heads to NE-10 foe Pace for a three game series starting with a double header at 3:00 pm on Thursday. The Golden Knights return home on Monday for a non-conference match up with Mercy on Monday beginning at 2:30 pm.

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