CLERMONT, Fla. – The Endicott softball team played their last game of the Dot Richardson Spring Games down in Clermont, Florida at the National Training Center. The Gulls faced Hamline this evening and took the 3-1 decision to improve to 6-2 overall before heading back to Beverly.
The Dot Richardson Spring Games was a great success for the Blue and Green as they defeated three out of their four regional teams, including NESCAC opponent Bowdoin. Endicott also introduced a very strong freshman class that had a big hand in the Gulls achievements this week.
In this evenings matchup against the Pipers, sophomore Courtney Blake (East Islip, N.Y.) helped lead the Gulls to victory as she pitched a full seven innings while only allowing one run as she improves to 2-0 on the season.
Sophomore Sam DiBella (Danvers, Mass.) and senior Kelley Michael (Ipswich, Mass.) backed Blake up on the offensive end as they picked up the RBI's that lead to the Blue and Green's three runs. The first came in the top of the second when rookie Rachel Couto (Chelmsford, Mass.) made it a 1-0 game as she reached the plate on a throwing error by the Pipers.
After two strong pitching innings by Blake who retired the side in order in both the third and the fourth, Couto started the top of the fourth with a single then advanced to second due to a sacrifice by senior Alex Moise (North Reading, Mass.). In scoring position DiBella doubled to bring Couto home to make it a two run game. Michael wrapped up the inning with her first double and RBI of the season as DiBella crossed the plate to earn the 3-0 lead.
In the bottom of the sixth Hamline finally got on the board after sophomore Chelsea Koehn (Clyde, Mich.) earned a homerun off Blake, but it was not enough as the sophomore pitcher wrapped up the sixth and seventh inning to secure the victory.
Endicott will return home ready to start Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action when they face a packed weekend of conference play. First on Friday, March 28th they will travel to Salve Regina for a double header at 4/6 p.m. and the following day they will host their first game of the 2014 season against Eastern Nazarene at 12/2 p.m. On Sunday, March 30th they will wrap up the weekend on the road at Curry for a 1/3:30 p.m. start.
