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Box Score 2 DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth softball team earned its first Little East Conference win of the season in a split with the University of Southern Maine on Saturday afternoon at the UMass Dartmouth Softball Field, 3-4 and 4-3. The double-header was originally scheduled to be played at Southern Maine, but due to inclement weather, the site of competition was moved to UMass Dartmouth. The Huskies served as the home team for both contests.
The Corsairs improved to 4-9 on the season and 1-2 in conference play, while Southern Maine jumped to 15-9 overall and 3-3 in the conference circuit.
Game #1 Southern Maine 4, UMass Dartmouth 3
Allison Pillar knocked home the game-deciding run in the bottom of the sixth to give the Huskies the win. Samantha Crosman arranged herself into scoring position with a one-out triple to right field. Pillar followed with a hit to shortstop, that was just deep enough for Crosman to beat the incoming throw and slide in before the tag was made. On the day, Crosman was 1-for-3 and Pillar was a perfect 1-for1 with an RBI and a pair of walks.
In the circle, Erika Millett earned her eighth win of the year as she scattered five hits, struck out six, while giving up three runs in seven innings of work. UMass Dartmouth got a strong performance out of starting pitcher Hannah Smith (Attleboro, Mass.), who surrendered three runs on four hits, while fanning five.
Junior Rachel Carey (Holbrook, Mass.) went 1-for-4 with two runs-batted-in to lead the Corsair offense. Carey tied the game at 3-3 in the fifth, when she sent her third round-tripper of the season over the left field fence. Sophomore Abby Tremblay (New Bedford, Mass.) knocked in the other run for UMass Dartmouth with a single to right field in the top of the fourth. Freshmen Dylan Parsons (Methuen, Mass.) Emily Colton (Kingston, Mass.) and Kristen Raposa (New Bedford, Mass.) also added base hits for the Corsairs
Game #2 UMass Dartmouth 4, Southern Maine 2
Four runs in the opening three innings and a dominant pitching display by junior Shannon Orton (Swansea, Mass.) helped UMass Dartmouth capture its first conference win of the season.
The Corsairs started the game with three consecutive base hits. Colton led off with an infield single, Carey followed with a rip through the right side of the infield, and with runners on second and first, sophomore Marissa Spinuzzi (Fair Lawn, N.J.) blasted an RBI double to center field. Orton followed with an RBI sacrifice bunt to give UMass Dartmouth a two run lead at the end of one.
In the top of the third, Carey started the inning by reaching with her second base knock of the game. Spinuzzi drew a base-on-ball to advance Carey to second. A pitch in the dirt allowed the two baserunners to advance a base and Tremblay registered an infield hit to knock home Carey. On the play, a throwing miscue also allowed Spinuzzi to cross home and increase the Corsairs lead to four runs.
Orton went the distance for the first time this season and secured her third win of the year. She surrendered five hits, two runs and one walk in seven innings of work.
The Southern Maine bats were silenced by Orton for the majority of the game, as the Huskies scored its only two runs of contest in the bottom of the fifth. Pillar started the charge when she reached on a hit-by-pitch. After swiping second base and advancing to third on a third-to-first play, Pillar reached home on a 4-3 groundout for Southern Maine's first run. A few batters later, an RBI single by Kristen Duross brought the Huskies within two runs, but that's as close as they would get.
After Danni Humphrey reached first on a throwing error with no outs in the sixth, Orton set the next six Southern Maine batters down to close out the win. Amber Kelly allowed four runs and struck out nine over seven innings for the Huskies.
UMass Dartmouth will return to action tomorrow at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., when the Corsairs host Keene State in a pair of LEC contests.
