April 4, 2009
BEVERLY, Mass. - The Endicott College softball team convincingly swept a TCCC double-header from Regis College, 9-0 and 14-6, on Saturday afternoon in Beverly, Mass. The Gulls improve to 15-3 (6-0 TCCC) while Regis drops to 3-14 (1-7 TCCC). The Gulls were led by Jenna Bortolotti (Milton, Mass.) who threw a complete game shutout in game one and Merry MacDonald (Braintree, Mass.) who went 6-for-7 with four RBI's on the day.
In game one, Bortolotti was staked to an early lead as the Gulls put three runs on the board in the first inning. After a pair of walks, a MacDonald bunt single, and a Meghan Sargent (Salisbury, Mass.) fielder's choice, the Gulls scored the first run on a wild pitch with the bases loaded. Ashley Wright (Merrimack, N.H.) plated the second run of the inning as her sacrifice fly scored MacDonald and Sargent who advanced on the throw back into the infield.
The Gulls put two more on the board in the second as Megan Downey's (Ballston Lake, N.Y.) bunt single drove in a run. MacDonald then drove in her lone RBI of game one on an RBI single to center, scoring Casey Shanley (Billerica, Mass.).
Endicott would score three more times in the third but that would be all Jenna Bortolotti would need as she gave up only one hit in the entire game, a bunt single in the third inning. The sophomore went all five innings while only walking one and striking out seven. Kristen Tavares (Acushnet, Mass.) suffered the loss for the Pride as she went four innings, giving up eight hits and walking four.
Offensively, the Gulls had a trio of players go perfect from the plate. MacDonald went 3-for-3 with an RBI while Ashley Wright and Katherine McGann (Topsfield, Mass.) each went 2-for-2 with two RBI's each.
Game two began in the same fashion as game one as the Gulls jumped all over the Pride in the first inning. Endicott would push four runners across in the top half of the first starting with an RBI single by Casey Shanley. The Gulls would load the bases four batters later when Hayley Hovhanessian (Farmington, Conn.) stroked a two-RBI single up the middle. Christine Calligan (Norwood, Mass.) would drive in the fourth run of the inning for the Gulls with her own RBI single.
Endicott would score two more in the second on a two-run homer by Merry MacDonald. Regis would respond with a run of their own in the bottom half of the second as Amanda Carlson (Ayer, Mass.) worked a bases-loaded walk to plate the first Pride run of the day, cutting the deficit to 6-1.
Each team had a quiet third inning before the Gulls exploded for three more runs in the fourth. The Pride finally got Macdonald out to start the inning, however Sargent would follow with a double and later scored on a Sarah Spaziano (Norton, Mass.) single. Calligan would strike again following a Hovhanessian single with a two-RBI single before the Pride would retire the final batter to get out of the inning.
Regis would plate a pair in the fourth as the Gulls made several costly mistakes. The inning started with an error that was followed by a Shannon Hurley (Billerica, Mass.) single. Both runners would advance to second and third on a passed ball, allowing Molly Teixeira (Gringe, N.H.) to hit a sacrifice fly that scored the second Regis run. The ensuing throw from left field would go astray however and went into the Regis dugout, allowing the second runner to score, making it a 9-3 ballgame.
Endicott would put the game away in the fifth with five runs to make it a 14-3 ballgame. Regis would storm a small rally, scoring three runs before Jackie Collier (Swampscott, Mass.) closed the door and finished the game out, 14-6. Collier went five innings giving up six runs (four earned) on seven hits while striking out six. Kendra Abram (Acushnet, Mass.) took the loss for the Pride.
MacDonald, Hovhanessian, and Calligan led the way for the Gulls offense as the three combined to go 9-for-12 while driving in 11 runs combined.
The Blue and Green return to action on Sunday when they host the University of New England in a TCCC double-header scheduled for 12:00 p.m. Regis looks to end its losing skid as the Pride travel to Western New England College for a conference double-header at 12:00 p.m.
