BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott softball team hosted University of New England (UNE) on Sunday afternoon for a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) matchup. Sparked behind two complete games by junior Courtney Blake (East Islip, N.Y.) the Gulls swept the Nor'easters at the Softball Complex. Endicott improves to 15-12 (11-2 CCC) while UNE fall to 16-17 (8-8 CCC).
Endicott will take the field next on Tuesday, April 21st as they host Salve Regina for a doubleheader starting at 3:00 p.m. The contest will mark as the last home game of the regular season before they head into the CCC Tournament. UNE will also see action on Tuesday as they host Saint Joseph's (Maine) for their final regular season matchup.
Game One: Endicott 8, UNE 0
In game one, Blake hurled an impressive complete game allowing just five hits in the shutout victory. The junior faced 22 batters while throwing a 64-38 pitch count. Her counterpart, junior Lauren Doneski (Waltham, Mass.) hurled five innings in the tough loss while earning four strikeouts.
The Blue and Green got on the board first in the bottom of the first inning scoring three early runs. With the bases loaded Doneski walked junior Emily Hoffman (Malden, Mass.) to send junior Jamie Corda (Higganum, Conn.) home. Sophomore Hannah Graney (Acton, Mass.) would follow as she singled to center field to send junior Sam DiBella (Danvers, Mass.) home from third base. To close out the inning sophomore Chanler Hospot (Pittsfield, Mass.) also walked with the bases loaded to bring freshman Margaret Martzolf (Port Saint Lucie, Fla.) across home plate for a 3-0 lead.
In the bottom of the third, Hospot would record her first career homerun as she blasted a hit beyond the outfield fence with Hoffman on base for the two-run homerun and a 5-0 score. In the bottom of the sixth the Gulls closed out the victory as she added three more runs with RBI's going to Martzolf, Corda and sophomore Julia McNeill (Hauppauge, N.Y.) who all hit singles in the inning.
Game Two: Endicott 4, UNE 3
Game two was an absolute battle with the Blue and Green coming out with the one-run edge. Again, Blake took the circle as she improved to 13-2 on the season with her seven innings and 91-61 pitch count. Her counterpart, junior Abby Lambert (Brockton, Mass.) pitched six innings for the Nor'easters recording four strikeouts on 28 batters faced.
UNE got on the board first in the top of the second as sophomore Paige Moore-Haskell (Scarborough, Maine) singled to right field with runners on second and third to send junior Kelly Murphy (Cromwell, Conn.) home for the first run of the game.
After a 1-2-3 third inning from both sides, Endicott finally answered back in the bottom of the fourth to take a 3-1 lead. To start off the inning Hospot singled to left field with runners on first and second to send Hoffman in for the game-tying run. Freshman Stephanie Cameron (Milford, Conn.) would then follow as she singled to center with runners on second and third to send both Hospot and Graney home for the 3-1 advantage.
In the bottom of the fifth the Gulls would tally their final run of the day as DiBella hit a single to center field with senior Jess Linden (Stratford, Conn.) and McNeill in scoring position make it a 4-1 game as Linden crossed home plate.
The Nor'easters were not finished as they responded in the top of the sixth scoring two runs to get back within reach. With runners on first and third, Lambert would single to center to wrap junior Amanda Vallante (Dracut, Mass.) around the bases. At the next at bat, junior Molly Bartles (Torrington, Conn.) reached first on a fielder's choice while opening up the opportunity for Murphy to run home for the 4-3 score.
Despite their efforts, Blake would close out the game and secure the victory for the Gulls as they improve to 33-7 all-time with the Nor'easters.
