Beverly, Mass. – After the \#5 seed Roger Williams defeated \#4 seed University of New England 8-5, the top-seeded Endicott softball team handed the Hawks a 16-2 loss in five innings in the opening round of the TCCC Tournament.

The Gulls (33-6) move on to face the \#2 seed Western New England at Endicott Stadium on Thursday, May 5^th in the second set of games of the double elimination tournament to determine which team will move on to the NCAA Tournament. Roger Williams faces \#3 seeded Nichols, hosted at Gordon College at 2:30 pm, and University of New England plays \#6 seeded Curry on Thursday at Endicott at 2:30 pm. 

Roger Williams junior third baseman Hannah Pirez (Bolton, Mass.) cracked a three-run homerun and sophomore pitcher Kelly Marcin (Windsor Locks, Conn.) held the Nor’easters to just one run over the final six innings in an 8-5 victory for the Hawks. 

In the bottom of the first, UNE jumped out to a 4-0 lead after RBI singles by junior Ashley Gott (Winterport, Maine) and sophomore Megan Gauger (South Paris, Maine) and a two-run blast down the left field line by freshman Amanda Vaudreuil (Windham, N.H.). 

Roger Williams was held scoreless by UNE starting pitcher Julie Bigelow (Montpelier, Vt.) for the first two innings until the top of the third when a walk to Sarah Grill (Watervliet, N.Y.) and a double by Eric Castro (Medford, N.Y.) set up Pirez’s three-run homerun to pull the Hawks to within one run at 4-3. The next batter, junior Jaclyn Doolin (Miller Place, N.Y.), walked and advanced to third on an error and a wild pitch before scoring on a RBI groundout by freshman outfielder Kaitlyn Costa (Cranston, R.I.).

With the score tied 4-4, the Hawks went right back to work in the top of the fourth, adding four more runs to make it 8-4 Roger Williams. In that inning, Doolin’s infield single scored a runner and Pirez reached home on a passed ball before a UNE pitching change. With junior Erin Lyons (Salem, N.H.) on the mound for UNE, Roger Williams added two more runs on the next batter as Marcin roped a two-RBI double down the right field line to cap off the scoring.  

Lyons would escape the jam and go on to pitch 3 2/3 innings, allowing six hits with no runs charged while striking out four. 

The Nor’easters got a run back in the bottom of the sixth on a sacrifice fly to left by Kirstyn Tracey (Pawcatuck, Conn.) that plated Alison Stanley (Rochester, N.H.) but that would be as close as UNE would get in this game. 

Hawks hurler Marcin (7-10) got the win by pitching a complete game, allowing five runs on six hits and two walks while striking out two. Bigelow took the loss, falling to 6-7 on the season. 

Boxscore

Endicott senior pitcher Jenna Bortolotti (Milton, Mass.) became the Gulls softball all-time winningest pitcher after beating Roger Williams 16-2, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks while striking out a batter. Bortolotti (15-4), passed Robyn Savitske (’07) on the Endicott all-time pitching wins category with her 61^st win of her career. 

Offensively for the Gulls as a team they recorded 16 hits on 30 plates to the trip with 15 RBI. Freshman shortstop Mattie Brett (Waterford, Conn.) was perfect at the plate, going 4-for-4 with six RBI and two runs scored. Sophomore third baseman Jocelyn Russo (Middletown, Conn.), from the leadoff spot, went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBI.

Roger Williams went up 2-0 in the top of the first on a RBI double to left by junior Kara Lewis (Taunton, Mass.) and a single through the left side of the infield by Jaclyn Doolin that plated Lewis. The Hawks, however, struggled in the bottom half of the inning by allowing nine Endicott runs. 

Hawks starter Doolin lasted just 1/3 of an inning before giving way to junior Stacy Broughton (Newtown, Conn.) who pitched the final 3 2/3 innings. Doolin took the loss, falling to 11-8 on the season. 

Endicott sophomore catcher Krista Fales (Melrose, Mass.) drove in two runs on a 2-for-3 day at the plate while freshman second baseman Jesse Bilafer (Concord, Mass.) had a solid game with three runs scored and a RBI with two hits. Ashley Wright (Merrimack, N.H.) recorded two hits and crossed the plate twice with a RBI and both Nicole Devlin (Dudley, Mass.) and Jennie Lacolla (Stoneham, Mass.) had RBI hits as well. 

Game 1 - \#5 Roger Williams defeats \#8 Salve Regina 4-3 (10 Innings)

Game 2 - \#6 Curry defeats \#7 New England College 3-2

 

Game 3 - \#5 Roger Williams defeats \#4 University of New England 8-5

Game 4 - \#6 Curry defeats \#3 Nichols 3-1

Game 5 - \#1 Endicott defeats \#5 Roger Williams 16-2 (5)*

Game 6 - \#2 Western New England defeats \#6 Curry 2-0 *

* Games 5 and 6 begin 20 minutes following the completion of Games 3 and 4, respectively.

Game 7 - \#4 University of New England vs. \#6 Curry (at Endicott) 2:30 p.m.

Game 8 - \#5 Roger Williams vs. \#3 Nichols (at Gordon) 2:30 p.m.

Game 9 - \#1 Endicott vs. \#2 Western New England (at Endicott) *

Game 10 - Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner (at Gordon) *

** Games 9 and 10 begin 20 minutes following the completion of Games 7 and 8, respectively.

Game 11 - Game 10 Winner vs. Game 9 Loser (at highest remaining seed) 10:00 a.m.

Game 12 - Game 11 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner (at Game 11 site) 12:00 p.m.

Game 13 - If Necessary 2:00 p.m.