March 15, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. - The Endicott College softball team got their 2009 campaign off on the right foot as they defeated the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and the University of Wisconsin by scores of 11-3 and 4-3, respectively, on Sunday morning at Fortune Road Park in Orlando, Florida.
In the Gulls first game of the season, Endicott faced off against the MCLA Trailblazers. Endicott was able to score in each of the first five innings of the contest including a four-run fourth inning. Merry MacDonald (Braintree, Mass.) connected on a two-run homerun that scored Jenna Lazar (Milton, Mass.). After a Meghan Sargent (Salisbury, Mass.) double, Ashley Wright (Merrimack, N.H.) blasted the Gulls second two-run homer of the inning, giving Endicott an 8-0 lead.
The Trailblazers threatened in the bottom of the fourth as they loaded the bases and pushed a run across. With the bags full, Kaitlyn Dano came to bat and smoked a line drive towards shortstop Jenna Lazar. The junior dove to her glove side and snagged the ball out of the air, saving several Trailblazer runs. The Gulls would escape the rest of the inning unscathed as the Endicott defense got the last two outs to end the threat.
Endicott would tack on two more runs in the seventh after a scoreless sixth inning. The Gulls would cruise to victory as MacDonald drove in her fourth run of the game on a sacrifice fly. Sarah Spaziano (Norton, Mass.) singled in the second run of the inning to leave the final tally at 11-3.
Jackie Collier (Swampscott, Mass.) picked up the win for the Gulls as she went the distance, pitching all seven innings while only giving up one earned run while striking out four. MCLA's Hadley Ameen took the loss as she gave up eight runs, six earned, in just four innings of work.
In Endicott's second game of the day, the Gulls were pushed to the limit by the Wisconsin Stout Blue Devils. Stout took a 2-0 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth inning as Endicott came to bat. Ashley Wright continued her strong day as she singled to left field, but an error by Kaitlin Helgaas allowed Wright to move to second base. Sarah Spaziano made the Blue Devils pay for their mistake as she singled to drive in Wright and cut the Endicott deficit in half, 2-1.
The Gulls were able to tie the game as Kelly Conway made an error, one of six Stout mishaps on the day, that would allow Spaziano to score from second, knotting the game at 2-2. Both teams had scoreless seventh innings which forced the game into extra innings.
The Blue Devils struck first in the top of the eighth inning as Jenna Johnson drove in Sammy Peterson with a sac fly to take a 3-2 lead.
With their backs against the walls, the Gulls had a little bit of luck on their side. After Merry MacDonald was placed on second base, Meghan Sargent placed a bunt single that allowed the Gulls to have first and third with nobody out. After Sargent swiped second base, Ashley Wright hit a ground ball to third base and as MacDonald tried to score, she was thrown out, but not before Sargent and Wright advanced into scoring position.
Sarah Spaziano stepped to the plate and Kristy Hoffman threw a wild pitch, allowing Sargent to score the tying run. Hoffman did not cover the plate in time as Wright sped around the bases and scored from second to win the game for the Gulls 4-3 in extra innings.
Jenna Bortolotti (Milton, Mass.) picked up her first win of the season as she pitched all eight innings, striking out four and giving up only two earned runs. Laura Vanderhoof suffered the loss for Wisconsin Stout despite giving up just two runs, both unearned, and striking out four.
Endicott (2-0) returns to action on Monday as it plays in day two of the Florida Rebel Spring Games in Orlando, Fla. The Gulls will face off against Springfield College at 9:00 a.m. and follow that up with a game against Allegheny College at 11:00 a.m.
