The St. Lawrence University softball team clinched the No. 4 seed in the 2012 Liberty League Tournament as it swept Skidmore College on Saturday. The Saints battled back from an early 2-0 deficit to earn a 5-2 victory in game one, then blanked the Thoroughbreds in game two with a 7-0 win.

St. Lawrence, which improved to 18-10 and 4-6 in the league, was led offensively by sophomores Leslie Stratton, Khalshia White and Rebecca Allen. Meanwhile, Skidmore fell to 13-23 and 2-8 on the season with Christina Gargiso, Julia Schwartz and Abby Shea leading its offensive effort.

The Saints clinched a playoff berth in game one as they scored a combined five runs in the third and fourth innings en route to a 5-2 victory. Junior captain Elizabeth McGinley improved to 8-5 on the mound as she scattered six hits and struck out eight in the complete game effort. Skidmore's Sam Crose suffered the loss as she gave up eight hits, five earned runs and struck out seven batters.

The Thoroughbreds took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning when Schwartz singled to plate Carol Brown. The visitors tacked on another run an inning later when Shea singled and then scored on Brown's double.

In the third inning, White sparked St. Lawrence's offensive push with a solo homerun over the centerfield fence. First-year student Aisha O'Connor followed with a double to left center and then scored on Stratton's single to right to knot the game at 2-2.

O'Connor gave the Saints the lead in the fourth inning when she tripled to bring Hanno and White home, and then scored on Stratton's single to right to put her team up 5-2. St. Lawrence would not relinquish its lead and McGinley allowed only one hit and struck out five batters over the final three innings.

White had a homerun and a single with two runs scored and an RBI, while O'Connor doubled and tripled with two runs scored and two RBIs.

St. Lawrence continued its strong offensive effort into game two as it scored a run in the first inning and two runs in the fifth inning for a 3-0 lead. A Skidmore fielding error in the following inning led to four unearned runs as Stratton, Cavellier and Allen followed with consecutive two-out RBI singles to put the game away at 7-0.

First-year student Kyle Plimpton earned her tenth win of the season on the mound for the Saints with a two-hit shutout. She struck out 10 batters and the Saints defense played errorless ball with several diving plays to complete the sweep. Sophomore Caroline Kieltyka had three RBIs to lead the Saints offensively in game two.

Abby Fuhrman suffered the loss on the mound for Skidmore in the nightcap as she gave up 12 hits, two earned runs and struck out five.

The Saints will be back in action tomorrow afternoon at St. John Fisher in a non-conference doubleheader.