April 24, 2009

Box Score - Game One / Box Score - Game Two

BEVERLY, Mass. - On a day where the Endicott College softball team honored its seniors, the Gulls closed out their TCCC regular season schedule in impressive fashion, sweeping a double-header from Salve Regina University by scores of 2-0 and 8-0 on Friday afternoon in Beverly, Mass. The Gulls improve to 33-4 overall while wrapping up the TCCC schedule at an impressive 23-1 in conference. The Seahawks drop to 20-16-1 overall and 14-6-1 in the TCCC. Senior Jackie Collier (Swampscott, Mass.) pitched a complete-game shutout in game one while fellow classmate Casey Shanley (Billerica, Mass.) drove in five runs on the day.

In game one, the two pitchers were locked in a showdown as Collier and Sarah Jakiela (Meriden, Conn.) combined to give up only one hit through the first 2.5 innings. Jakiela would blink first however in the bottom of third as TCCC Player of the Week Jenna Lazar (Milton, Mass.) worked a two-out walk and then stole second base to get rally going for the Gulls. Casey Shanley then stepped to the plate and blasted her sixth homerun of the season off the granite wall in right-centerfield for an early 2-0 lead.

Salve would threaten in their half of the fifth when a Merry MacDonald (Braintree, Mass.) error allowed two runners to get into scoring position with two outs. Collier would be unfazed however as she induced a Lauryn Dahrooge (Charlton, Mass.) flyout to centerfield that ended the inning.

Salve Regina would threaten again in the top of the seventh during their final at-bat when Katie Vieira (Dartmouth, Mass.) led off the inning with a single through the left side. Vieira would move to second after a Sarah Ramsey (Muncy, Pa.) walk and moved to third when Caitlin Poplawski (New Britain, Conn.) hit into a fielder's choice, leaving runners at the corners with two outs. Jackie Collier would pull through however as Amaran Garbisch (Ghent, N.Y.) swung through a change-up to end the game and give Collier her 15th win of the season.

Both pitchers threw exceptionally well as Collier threw a complete game, giving up four hits while only walking one and striking out three while giving up no runs. Jakiela also went the distance for the Seahawks, dropping to 20-13 despite striking out 10 and giving up only two runs on five hits and walking three.

Offensively, the Gulls were led by Shanley's two-run homerun as well as a 2-for-2 day from Megan Downey (Ballston Lake, N.Y.). MacDonald and Ashley Wright (Merrimack, N.H.) also picked up hits for the Gulls. The Seahawks received four hits, one each by its five through seven hitters, as Salve Regina stranded seven runners on base in game one. Endicott received a little more offense in game two as the Gulls plated eight runs in the contest through five innings. Shanley struck again in the top of the first, driving in Lazar to give the Gulls and Endicott starter Jenna Bortolotti (Milton, Mass.) and early 1-0 lead.

Bortolotti would cruise through the first four innings before finally giving up a hit in the top of the fifth inning. Meanwhile, the Gulls were able to add a pair of runs in the third inning on an RBI single by Meghan Sargent (Salisbury, Mass.) and a sacrifice fly from Hayley Hovhanessian (Farmington, Conn.).

Endicott also tacked on four runs in the fourth inning when Garbisch replaced Jakiela and the Casey Shanley struck again with a two-run double to left centerfield that scored Jenna Lazar and Christine Calligan (Norwood, Mass.). MacDonald would drive in a run on an RBI single and would later score on an RBI single by Hovhanessian.

Jenna Bortolotti gave up her first hit of the game to Kristen Parolise (Hamden, Conn.) who singled to left field. The sophomore then walked Jakiela and faced her first jam of the day when the runners moved into scoring position on a groundball to second base. Kristen Danubio (Glen Rock, N.J.) would come to the plate and rocket a groundball at Bortolotti that she calmly fielded and fired over to first to end the threat and the inning.

Leading 7-0 going into the bottom of the fifth, Megan Downey worked a walk and then stole second base after an Ashley Wright groundout. Jenna Lazar stepped to the plate and singled to centerfield, scoring Downey and ending the game, 8-0.

Jenna Bortolotti picked up her 16th win of the season, improving to 16-2, by going five innings, striking out three and giving up only one hit. Merry MacDonald led the Gulls, going 3-for-3 with an RBI while Shanley went 2-for-2 with three more RBI on the day.

Sarah Jakiela suffered her second loss of the day and dropped to 20-14 while going three innings and giving up five hits and three earned runs. Kristen Parolise had the lone hit for the Seahawks in the setback.

Endicott will wrap up its regular season when they travel to Tufts University on Saturday morning for a non-conference double-header with Tufts University at 10:00 a.m. The Seahawks wrap up their regular season on Saturday as well when they host Wentworth in a TCCC double-header starting at 12:00 p.m.