Posted: Apr 15, 2012
MILTON, Mass. – Endicott softball Head Coach Mark Veilleux became the 23rd coach in NCAA Division III history to reach the 500 career victory plateau after the Gulls swept CCC rival Curry 11-0 (5 inn.) and 2-1 on the road on Sunday.
Veilleux, now in his 18th year at the helm of the Gulls softball program, has guided Endicott to 12 conference championships, nine NCAA Tournament appearances, and 13 straight seasons with at least 20 wins. He is the second coach from a New England institution (Charlie Beach, Keene State) to record at least 500 career coaching wins and now currently sits at 501-185-10 overall.
The Gulls are now 17-11 (11-1 CCC) and just three wins shy of the program’s 14th consecutive 20-plus win season.
Game One: Endicott 11, Curry 0 (5 inn.)
Box Score
Endicott scored each of the first innings, piling up 11 runs on eight hits, and got a five-inning shutout from sophomore Nell O’Connor (Harwich, Mass.) who improved to 6-2 on the season. The 11-0 shutout marked Veilleux’s 500th career victory.
Sophomore centerfielder Alexandra Moise (North Reading, Mass.) and junior left fielder Byrne Katz (Trumbull, Conn.) both drove in two runs and crossed the plate twice to lead the Endicott bats. Moise was 3-for-3 with her fifth double of the season while Katz went 2-for-3 with her second homerun in 2012. Sophomore Kelley Michael (Ipswich, Mass.) added two hits including a solo shot to left center in the top of the fourth, her second homerun of the season.
O’Connor pitched five solid innings, scattering five hits while striking out three Colonels.
The Gulls jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first on a double by Moise, a single by Katz and an infield error by Curry that all brought runners in. In the second, Endicott junior Nicole Devlin (Dudley, Mass.) walked, advanced to third base after a Jesse Bilafer (Concord, Mass.) sacrifice bunt and groundout, and eventually scored on a passed ball to make it 4-0.
In a five-run top of the third, Katz cracked her two-run homerun to right center after a bunt single by Moise. The Gulls would added two more runs on Curry error and one more on a sacrifice fly by freshman Jess Linden (Stratford, Conn.).
Up 9-0, the Blue and Green plated two more runs in the fourth inning on a solo homerun by Kelley and another infielder error by the Colonels.
Game Two: Endicott 2, Curry 1
Box Score
Endicott junior hurler Danielle LaRocque (Averill Park, N.Y.) pitched 6 2/3 innings allowing just a solo homerun in the second inning as she improved to 4-3 on the season. LaRocque gave up seven hits and one walk, did not strikeout a batter, but still managed to put down the Curry lineup.
Bilafer went 4-for-4 in this game and critical in Endicott comeback as the Gulls trailed 1-0 in the fifth inning. After back-to-back groundouts, junior third baseman Jocelyn Russo (Middletown, Conn.) single then advanced to third on a base hit to right. Russo would later score to tie the game at 1-1.
In the next inning, the Blue and Green took the 2-1 lead after Devlin roped a one-out single to left to score Moise. Moise and Katz had reached base on a bunt and infield single, respectively, then moved up one base on a sacrifice bunt by Krista Fales (Melrose, Mass.).
Curry got back-to-back two-out singles in the bottom of the seventh as they threatened to tie the game but Gulls freshman Cam Sprague (Clifton Park, N.Y.) came on to strikeout the last batter to end the game, earning her first save and giving Endicott a 2-1 victory.
The Colonels scored their lone in the second inning off a leadoff solo homerun by Taryn Vigeant (Terryville, Conn.).
Endicott plays non-conference foe Wellesley on Wednesday, April 18th at home in a doubleheader starting at 3:30 pm.
