CLERMONT, Fla. – The Endicott softball team swept its final two games of its 2016 spring break trip on Friday afternoon against Amherst and Wisconsin-River Falls at the Foundation Academy Softball Complex. The Gulls defeated Amherst by a 9-5 score in game one before earning an 8-3 victory over Wisconsin-River Falls in game two.

GAME 1 – Endicott 9, Amherst 5

Endicott senior starter Courtney Blake (East Islip, N.Y.) notched her second win of the season (2-3) with a complete-game effort against Amherst. In her fifth start of the season (sixth appearance), Blake allowed 13 hits, five runs (all earned), and two walks, to go along with two strikeouts on 120 pitches (74 for strikes).

Amherst (7-2) starter Gina Pagan (Orinda, Calif.) took the loss (2-2) on one inning, six hits, five runs (all earned), one walk, and two strikeouts. Nicolette Miranda (Mendham, N.J.) finished the last five innings, yielding six hits, four runs (all earned), a pair of free passes, and three punchouts.

The Gulls used a five-run first inning to take a commanding lead on the scoreboard and never looked back.

In the bottom of the first, Julia McNeill (Smithtown, N.Y.), Emily Hoffman (Malden, Mass.), Samantha DiBella (Danvers, Mass.), Danielle Stratton (Agawam, Mass.), and Olivia Odermatt (Cheshire, Conn.) all notched RBI singles in the frame to account for the scoring, which mostly occurred by the station-to-station variety throughout the inning.

Endicott went on to add a pair of runs in the second and the sixth innings, respectively, to ensure the victory. Margaret Martzolf (Port Saint Lucie, Fla.) connected on two-run double to left center in the second, while McNeill laced a two-run single to center field in sixth to highlight the scoring.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Endicott is now 2-1 in the all-times series against Amherst, which dates back to March 19, 2003.
• Today's meeting was the first between the two programs since March 20, 2014.
• Lindsee Allienello (East Providence, R.I.) went 3-for-4 with two runs scored out of the leadoff spot in the win.
• McNeill posted a 3-for-4 line at the plate to go along with two runs scored and three RBI.
• Along with Chrissy Gikas (Danvers, Mass.), who hit second in today's lineup, Endicott's 1-2-3 hitters went a combined 7-for-11 with six runs scored and three RBI.

FOR THE FOES

• Brianna Cook (Far Hills, N.J.) registered an RBI groundout in the third, while Annie Apffel (Mt. View, Calif.) and Kyra Naftel (Santa Clarita, Calif.) both had two-run doubles in the sixth to account for Amherst's scoring.
• Naftel, Sammy Salustri (Pleasanton, Calif.), Alena Marovitz (Northbrook, Ill.), Sara Buck (Hawaii Kai, Hawaii), and Annie Murphy (Austin, Texas) all had multi-hit games in the loss.

GAME 2 – Endicott 8, Wisconsin-River Falls 3

Freshman starter Laura Somerville (Suffield, Conn.) tossed a complete-game versus the Falcons to improve to 2-1 on the season. In her third start (fourth appearance) of her first-year campaign, Somerville gave up nine hits, three runs (all earned), and two walks in addition to striking out a career-high six batters on 107 pitches (78 for strikes).

Payton Speckel (Buffalo, Minn.) was handed the loss (2-2) on six innings of work, 10 hits, eight runs (five earned), one walk, and a strikeout.

Much like in their game against Amherst, the Gulls struck first, this time with three runs in the bottom of the first inning. Martzolf made it 1-0 with an RBI single to left field, while Jamie Corda (Higganum, Calif.) drilled a two-run single back up the middle for a 3-0 advantage.

Wisconsin-River Falls (8-10) cut into the deficit with two runs in the top of the half of the second before Endicott answered with another three-spot in the bottom half on a run-producing base hit by Gikas and a two-run single to left of the bat of DiBella.

Endicott went on to outscore the Falcons, 2-1, over the remaining 4 1/2 innings to seal the win. Ilyza Holman (Ashland, Mass.) had an RBI single to right center in the fifth, and Lexi Pederson (Chandler, Ariz.) knocked home Allienello with an RBI base knock to right field in the sixth to round out the scoring for the Gulls.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Endicott will return home to Beverly, Mass. later this week riding a four-game winning streak.
• The Gulls evened the all-time series against Wisconsin-River Falls at 1-1 with today's win.
• The first-ever meeting between the two programs was played on March 14, 2012 in Kissimmee, Florida.
• Gikas and McNeill both tallied two hits apiece against the Falcons.
• McNeill hit .625 (5-for-8) in today's doubleheader. She also scored three runs and had three RBI.
• Endicott is 4-0 this season when scoring first.

FOR THE FOES

• Abby Veloske (Ham Lake, Minn.) and Ali Krohn (Elk River, Minn.) both had RBI singles in the Falcons' two-run second inning.
• Kaia Dorn (Waterloo, Wisc.) drove in Wisconsin-River Falls' final run in the fourth with a run-producing single to center field.
• Aiyana Ledwein (St. Anthony, Minn.) went 3-for-4 out of the two-hole in the lineup.
• Shannan Borchardt (Prior Lake, Minn.) also had a multi-hit day as the sophomore right fielder was 2-for-3 with two runs scored on the afternoon.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (5-5) travels to Gordon on Wednesday, March 23 for a doubleheader versus the Fighting Scots at 3:30 p.m. 

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