March 27, 2009

Box Score - Game One / Box Score - Game Two

BEVERLY, Mass. - The Endicott College softball team picked up its first The Commonwealth Coast Conference victories of the season over cross-town rival Gordon College, 6-0 and 7-2, on Friday afternoon in Wenham, Mass. The Gulls improve to 9-3 (2-0 TCCC) while Gordon dips to 4-7 (0-4 TCCC). Endicott received a pair of complete game victories from Jenna Bortolotti (Milton, Mass.) and Jackie Collier (Swampscott, Mass.).

In game one, Endicott struck first as Megan Downey (Ballston Lake, N.Y.) had an RBI double in the bottom of the second after a pair of singles from Hayley Hovhanessian (Farmington, Conn.) and Katherine McGann (Topsfield, Mass.) to give the Gulls the 1-0 lead.

The Gulls would add to their lead in their next to at-bats as Meghan Sargent (Salisbury, Mass.) would add a two-run homer in the bottom of the third and current TCCC Player of the Week Casey Shanley (Billerica, Mass.) added a two-RBI single in the bottom of the fourth to extend the Gulls lead to 5-0.

That would be all Jenna Bortolotti would need as she baffled the Fighting Scots for seven innings, striking out six and giving up only four hits. The sophomore improved to 4-1 this season while throwing her second shutout of the year in the 6-0 victory.

In game two of the double-header, the Gulls would strike first again as Endicott scored in the bottom half of the first and second innings. After a pair of walks, Merry MacDonald (Braintree, Mass.) sacrificed the runners into scoring position. Following a Meghan Sargent strikeout, both runners advanced on a throw down to first base allowing Jenna Lazar (Milton, Mass.) to score.

Hovhanessian did most of the damage in the second inning as she doubled to left center field and then stole third base. Megan Downey worked a walk and then allowed herself to get into a rundown, retreating to first safely and allowing Hovhanessian to score from third, giving the Gulls the 2-0 advantage.

Collier entered the fourth with a two run but could not silence the Gordon bats. After a Courtney Stevenson fly out, the Fighting Scots strung together four consecutive singles, scoring a pair of runs in the process. Collier would be able to stop the bleeding however as she forced a pair of infield pop-ups to end the inning.

With a tie game going into the bottom of the fourth, the Gulls responded with a five-run inning to gain back control of the game. The Gulls quickly loaded the bases with one out after a pair of singles and a walk. Gordon was able to get a force out at home on a groundball to shortstop. Casey Shanley popped up in her at-bat but an error by the first basemen allowed a pair of runs to score. MacDonald then stepped to plate and ripped an RBI single that allowed two more runs to score.

Collier would settle down with a five run cushion and only give up two hits over the final three innings. For the game, the senior went seven innings, giving up a pair of runs and striking out five. She improves to 3-2 overall on the season while dropping her ERA to 2.94.

Endicott returns to action on Sunday when it hosts a pair of non-conference games against Babson and Emerson Colleges. The game against the Beavers is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. while the Gulls face-off against the Lions at 2:00 p.m. Gordon hosts Johnston State College at 2:00 p.m.