Posted: Apr 21, 2012
BEVERLY, Mass. – Endicott softball took a 4-1 victory in the second game of a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) doubleheader against Roger Williams on Saturday afternoon. The Gulls salvaged a split of the day after the Hawks won the first game 11-8, handing Endicott just their second conference loss of the season.
Endicott is now 18-13-1, with a 12-2 mark in the CCC, while Roger Williams sits at 10-6 in the conference (16-19 overall).
Game 2
First baseman Nicole Devlin (Dudley, Mass.) cranked a three-run home run to left field in the first inning to put Endicott up 3-0, and that was all the Gulls would need to provide freshman pitcher Cam Sprague (Clifton Park, N.Y.).
Sprague allowed just one run on six hits and collected five strikeouts while not walking a batter in improving her record to 4-5.
Endicott also rapped out six hits and would add an additional run in the fifth when shortstop Kelley Michael (Ipswich, Mass.) doubled home third baseman Jocelyn Russo (Middletown, Conn.). All four of Endicott’s runs were unearned, as the Gulls took advantage of three miscues by Roger Williams.
The Hawks got their lone run in the top of the seventh on a towering homerun to center field by catcher Lauren Tierney (Middleboro, Mass.).
Pitcher Kelly Marcin (Windsor Locks, Conn.) was also the only player with two hits in the game for Roger Williams. She fell to 2-7 and struck out three batters while issuing two walks.
Michael had two hits for the Gulls and scored a run to go with her RBI, while Jesse Bilafer (Concord, Mass.) also crossed the plate on Devlin’s blast.
Game 1
The Gulls fell behind 9-1 and were one out away from defeat in the bottom of the fifth inning when they rallied for six runs, but were unable to complete the comeback.
The six-run rally came about thanks to a two-out error by center fielder Molly Petrone (Northborough, Mass.), which allowed Russo to reach and extended the inning. A passed ball scored Amanda Campbell (Billerica, Mass.) and a single by Jesse Bilafer (Concord, Mass.), one of four hits in the inning, brought in another run for the Gulls, as did a fielder’s choice by outfielder Byrne Katz (Trumbull, Conn.).
Devlin capped the scoring in the inning with a double to left center, scoring Michael.
Colleen Martin (Cape Elizabeth, Maine), the only Gull to cross the plate twice, led off the sixth inning with a solo home run to right field to bring the score to 9-8, but that was as close as Endicott would get and Tierney sealed the contest with a two-run homer to left.
Tierney was 2-3 with three RBI in the contest, while third baseman Caroline Atkinson (Milford, Mass.) went 3-4 and scored three runs.
The Hawks jumped on top of the Gulls and starter Nell O’Connor (Harwich, Mass.), scoring two runs in the first inning and two more in the third. Hannah Pirez (Bolton, Mass.) had an RBI single in the first and scored on a hit by Atkinson, while Tierney and pitcher Jaclyn Doolin (Miller Place, N.Y.) stroked RBI hits in the third.
The Gulls sandwiched a run back in the second when Katz scored on a wild pitch, but the Hawks erupted for five more runs in the top of the fifth to put Endicott at the brink of defeat, capped by Giancola’s three-run blast.
Designated player Kara Lewis (Taunton, Mass.) had an RBI double in the game and Pirez came across the plate three times as well.
Doolin improved her record to 9-6, allowing 7 runs, but only one earned over four and two-thirds innings. O’Connor falls to 6-3 for a Gull’s pitching staff that combined for seven strikeouts in the game.
The Gulls will be on the road tomorrow afternoon with another conference doubleheader. Endicott will travel to Newport, R.I. for a 12:00 pm start against Salve Regina.
Roger Williams will be home to greet the Golden Bears of Western New England for a pair of games starting at 12:00 pm.
