Softball Drops Two to Regis

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Regis College softball team opened New England Collegiate Conference play with 5-0 and 11-2 wins over Mitchell College on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field.

The Pride finished with 19 hits in the doubleheader, led by four from leadoff hitter Brianna Napoleone. Starting pitcher Madi McLellan recorded her first career shutout in the opener while Lisa Lusardi picked up her first victory of the season in the nightcap. 

Mitchell (7-10 overall, 3-5 NECC) will next play at Bay Path University on Sunday, April 9 at 1 p.m. Regis (4-6 overall, 2-0 NECC) returns to action at home against Lesley University on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Game 1 – Regis 5, Mitchell 0

Five Mitchell errors yielded five unearned runs in the first game of the day. Regis capitalized on two miscues in the first inning alone to score a runner from third base on a sacrifice fly by Alexa Nejaime. The Pride then made it 2-0 in the fourth on a throwing error that scored Allison Caloggero from second base.

A two-run sixth inning put Regis on top 4-0. Caloggero plated the first run with a single to left-center and Ellery Rasmussen followed with an RBI single to center. The final run came in the seventh when Napoleone doubled and later scored on a dropped fly ball.

McLellan (2-3 overall) kept the Mariners off balance all game. She gave up only four hits—the first coming on a leadoff double by Suzanne Vachon in the fourth—and stranded six Mitchell runners. She finished with a season-high 14 strikeouts and walked only one batter.

Taylor Duchesneau took the loss for the Mariners, allowing eight hits while striking out one to drop to 5-8 on the season.

Game 2 – Regis 11, Mitchell 2 (6 innings)

Regis sent nine batters to the plate in the first inning and came away with three runs, highlighted by an RBI single by Amanda Navarro. The Pride added a run in the third on a single up the middle by Allie Petillo to make it 4-0.

Regis doubled the margin with a four-run fourth inning that included an RBI single by Lusardi and a two-run base knock from Rachel Tortora. The Pride took the eight-run advantage into the fifth but couldn't keep the Mariners off the scoreboard, as Samantha DelConte doubled and Vachon tripled for the first Mitchell run of the day. Danielle Autieri followed with an RBI single to cut the deficit to six at 8-2.

The Pride tacked on three more runs in the sixth, with Napoleone plating a run with an infield single and later scoring on a double by Kelsey Morton. Lusardi then retired the side in order in the home half of the sixth to slam the door. She scattered 10 hits over 6.0 innings and struck out two. 

Vachon (2-2 overall) yielded eight runs (five earned) on eight hits in 3.2 innings of work for Mitchell.