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Box Score 2 MANSFIELD, Conn. – Senior Shannon Martin (Wethersfield, Conn.) hit a two-run homer in the first game and ended the nightcap with a one-out, bases-loaded opposite field RBI single to left to help the Eastern Connecticut State University softball team sweep the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, 8-0 in six innings and 7-6, this evening at the Eastern Softball Stadium.
The Warriors (17-4) moved into first place in the conference standings with a 6-1 record, while the Corsairs (5-11) slipped into sixth with a 2-4 mark against Little East Conference opponents.
Eastern Connecticut 8, UMass Dartmouth 0 (6-innings)
Eastern Connecticut starting pitcher Erin Miller (Waterford, Conn.) spun a gem to earn her seventh win of the year (7-2). The senior right-hander worked out of a first inning jam to settle in and retired eight consecutive Corsairs between the second and fifth frames. She allowed four hits and didn't issue a walk, while striking out six to earn the complete-game victory.
Junior Amanda McHugh (North Kingston, R.I.) was the lone visitor to have any sustained success against Miller, the 2014 Little East Conference Pitcher of the Year. The junior corner infielder reached safely in both her at-bats with a pair of singles, while junior Shannon Orton (Swansea, Mass.) and freshman Emily Colton (Kingston, Mass.) accounted for the remaining base knocks.
The Warriors opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning with a RBI double, but Orton was able to hold the hosts' at-bay over the following two frames. Martin sparked the Eastern Connecticut offensive attack in the fourth with a two-run shot to extended the lead to 3-0.
The Warriors tacked on three runs in the fifth and two additional scores in the sixth to force the conference's eight-run rule to be put into effect.
Orton suffered the loss (3-7), allowing six runs on six hits.
Eastern Connecticut 7, UMass Dartmouth 6
In the nightcap, the UMass Dartmouth bats came alive as the visitors produced a season-high 13 hits. Sophomore Marissa Spinuzzi (Fair Lawn, N.J.) paced the attack with a 3-for-4 performance with a run scored and two runs batted in, while Colton also registered three base knocks (3-for-5) with two runs scored and a RBI. Sophomore Abby Tremblay (New Bedford, Mass.) and McHugh bolstered the attack with two hits each.
Trailing 5-3 entering the top of the seventh, the Corsairs regained their advantage by stringing together four hits to produce three runs. Spinuzzi sparked the rally with a single to centerfield and Orton followed with a single into right field. Tremblay whittled the deficit to 5-4 with a run-producing single to right field. Freshman Erica Chase (Portsmouth, Mass.) gave UMass Dartmouth the lead by driving in a pair of runs on a fielder's choice, chasing Miller who entered in the top of the inning in search of the save. Sophomore Samantha Valentine (Ridge, N.Y.), the original Game 2 starter, returned to the pitching circle to induce sandwich a hit by pitch between two infield fielder's choices, the latter cutting down a run at the plate. The Warriors escaped the jam with an infielder ground out to the second baseman.
The Corsairs were able to record the first out of the seventh, but Eastern Connecticut loaded the bases with back-to-back singles and a walk. Sophomore Kristyn Ryan (Barkhamsted, Conn.) drew the ballgame even with a single to left, while Martin completed the rally with a game-wininng hit to left field.
Freshman Hannah Smith (Attleboro, Mass.) limited the Warriors to one earned run on three hits, while striking out seven. Tremblay (0-1) suffered the loss, giving up two earned runs on four hits in one inning of work.
Valentine (8-2) allowed two runs on five hits, while striking out four over the course of five innings. Sophomore Summer Cipriani (North Stonington, Conn.) pitched two innings of relief, while Martin did not register an out in the seventh.
UMass Dartmouth will return to action at 4 p.m. on Thursday, April 16, when the Corsairs travel to Salem State University.
