April 20, 2009
BEVERLY, Mass. - Endicott's Casey Shanley (Billerica, Mass.) drove in the winning run in the seventh inning on a fielder's choice, scoring Christine Calligan (Norwood, Mass.) to give the Endicott College softball team a 2-1 victory over visiting Babson College on Monday afternoon. The Gulls improve to 29-4 overall with the non-conference win while Babson drops to 19-20 on the season.
Neither team would be able to produce much offense as both team's pitchers were locked in a pitcher's duel at the start of the game. Endicott's Jackie Collier (Swampscott, Mass.) and Babson's Lauren Gonsky (Long Valley, N.J.) each held the opposing team's offenses at bay throughout the first five innings of play. Collier scattered five hits through the first five innings while Gonsky was not to be outdone, giving up only two hits in that span.
Babson finally got on the board in the top of the sixth inning as Nicole Latini (East Bridgewater, Mass.) led off the frame with a double over the right fielder's head. Kaitlyn Clark (Ramsey, N.J.) squared to bunt for a sacrifice and got the bunt down, but Endicott's Sarah Spaziano (Norton, Mass.) could not handle the throw to first as the ball glanced off her glove, allowing Latini to score the first run of the ball game. Jess Winer (Longmeadow, Mass.) would sacrifice Clark over to third but Babson could not score an insurance run when Brittney Russo's (Middletown, Conn.) bunt attempt was fielded by Shanley and Clark was thrown out at the plate.
Endicott was able to respond with a run of its own in their half of the sixth when Merry MacDonald (Braintree, Mass.) led off the inning with a bunt single and then stole second base. Following a Meghan Sargent (Salisbury, Mass.) walk, Hayley Hovhanessian (Farmington, Conn.) hit a perfectly placed groundball to second base, allowing both runners to advance into scoring position. Endicott head coach Mark Veilleux then called for the suicide squeeze as Spaziano got down a bunt and allowed MacDonald to scamper in from third. Endicott could do no more damage however as the Gulls hit into their second double-play of the game, ending the inning.
Collier pitched a perfect seventh and handed the game off to her offense, as she looked for her 13th win of the season. Freshman Katherine McGann (Topsfield, Mass.) began the seventh inning with a walk and was replaced by Calligan on the base paths. During the ensuing at bat, one of Gonsky's pitches sailed high and rolled towards the Endicott dugout, allowing Calligan to reach second, however as catcher Annie Dursema (Yarmouth, Maine) dove for the ball near the dugout, her helmet caused the ball to ricochet a little further up the line, allowing Calligan to get to third base on the error. Gonsky then hit Jill Wiseman (Holden, Mass.) with a pitch and intentionally walked current TCCC Player of the Week Jenna Lazar (Milton, Mass.) to load the bases. Casey Shanley then rifled a ball to shortstop where Clark knocked the ball down but could not make a play to home as Calligan scooted home, giving the Gulls their 12th-straight win by a score of 2-1.
Endicott's Jackie Collier improved to 13-2 this season by scattering six hits through seven innings and allowing one unearned run while striking out four. Lazar led the offense by going 2-for-3 while MacDonald and Spaziano had the only other two hits for the Gulls. Shanley and Spaziano each had an RBI for Endicott.
Babson's Lauren Gonsky suffered her third loss of the season and drops to 4-3 while going 6.1 innings and giving up only four hits, striking out six, but walking seven batters. Jess Winer went a perfect 2-for-2 from the dish while Courtney Thurston (Taunton, Mass.), Lisa Wojnar (Bellaire, Texas), Latini, and Clark each had a hit for the Beavers.
Endicott returns to action on Wednesday when the Gulls host Curry College for a TCCC double-header scheduled for 3:00 p.m. Babson looks ahead to the upcoming NEWMAC Tournament starting on April 22nd where the Beavers are the No.4 seed and will likely host Springfield College on Wednesday.
