Softball Takes Two at Regis
WESTON, Mass. – The Regis College softball team dropped a New England Collegiate Conference doubleheader to visiting Mitchell College, 12-1 in five innings and 9-7, on Saturday afternoon.
The Pride fell to 6-19 overall and 6-8 in league play, while Mitchell improved to 17-13 and 14-2 in the NECC. The Mariners also secured no worse than the second seed for the upcoming NECC Championship.
Mitchell wasted no time in game one of the day, putting up 10 runs in the first inning en route to a 12-1 victory. Freshman Lindsey Romagnino hit a pair of two-run homers in the opening frame, while senior Brittany Zaccaria drove in three runs with an RBI single and two-run double all coming in the first. Freshman Dylan Riccardi and senior Shannen Pelletier also added RBI singles in the inning and the Mariners added one more run on a passed ball to take a commanding 10-0 lead.
Regis got on the board in the third inning when Sarah Porteus came around to score on an RBI single through the left side by Kara Donovan. Mitchell rounded out the scoring in the top of the fifth as junior Tiffany Person drove in a run with a single to second base and Zaccaria drove in her fourth run of the day with a ground out to seal the 12-1 victory.
Emily Pickett suffered the loss for Regis, lasting only 0.2 innings and allowing 10 runs (seven earned) on nine hits. Porteus pitched the final 4.1 innings and allowed two earned runs on four hits while striking out four. Cassie Langone, Donovan, and Porteus registered the lone hits in game one for the Pride.
Mitchell's Zaccaria and Romagnino each went 2-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored, with Romagnino hitting a pair of home runs. Person went 3-for-4 from the leadoff spot and Pelletier went 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Sophomore Tricia Tomaselli picked up her seventh win of the season by going 5.0 innings and allowing only one run on three hits with six strikeouts.
Game two was a back and forth battle as Regis took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI double by Katie Blackburn. Porteus started game two for the Pride and kept Mitchell off the scoreboard until the top of the fourth. The Mariners loaded the bases on three singles before Pelletier drove in senior Stacey Suplicki to tie the game at 1-1. In the next at-bat, sophomore Chelsea Arpin hit a sharp grounder to short, and senior Nikki Hoxie beat the throw home to give Mitchell a 2-1 lead.
Katie Blackburn began the fourth inning with her second double of the day and came around to score on an RBI single by Jill Bruning that tied the game. After a scoreless top of the fifth, Mitchell made a pitching change to Tomaselli and the Pride greeted her with a three-run inning after Kara Donovan led off the frame with a triple to left center. She later scored on an RBI single by Samantha Bliss. Bliss would score on a fielder's choice, and the Pride added their final run on a passed ball to take a 5-2 lead.
The Mariners quickly put two runners on in the sixth and began to chip away at the Pride lead as Romagnino delivered an RBI single to left center that made it 5-3. Suplicki followed with an RBI single to right field, advancing to second on the throw and leaving two runners in scoring position with the Mariners only down 5-4. Hoxie made it three-straight run scoring singles with a grounder through the right side that tied the score. Freshman Shane'l Blount pinch hit and laced a ball to shortstop and forced an off-line throw that allowed two runs to score and gave Mitchell the 7-5 advantage.
Pitching with the lead, Tomaselli set the Pride down in order in both the sixth and seventh innings to earn her second win of the day and eighth of the year.
All of the Regis offense came from the top five spots in the order as Samantha Bliss went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, while Blackburn went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI and a run scored. Kim Daniels, Kara Donovan and Jill Bruning added hits in the setback. Porteus took the loss for the Pride, striking out six while going 7.0 innings and allowing seven runs (four earned) on 14 hits.
Mitchell had three players record three-hit games in part two of the doubleheader as Suplicki, Hoxie, and Pelletier all went 3-for-4 and combined for three RBI and four runs scored. Tomaselli pitched well in relief to pick up the win, going three innings and allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits. Senior Marissa Thomas took a no-decision, lasting 4.0 innings and allowing two earned runs on five hits with four strikeouts.
Mitchell will try and extend its winning streak to 11 games on Saturday, April 28 when the Mariners travel to Becker College for an NECC match-up starting at 1:00 p.m.