Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 BOSTON – Sophomore Abby Tremblay (New Bedford, Mass.) went a combined 4-for-6 with three RBI, but the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth dropped a Little East Conference softball doubleheader at intra-state rival University of Massachusetts Boston this afternoon at Clark Athletic Field.
The Beacons (6-24, 3-11 LEC) scored all three of their runs in the bottom of the first to edge the Corsairs in the opener 3-2, while erupting for five runs in the fourth inning to snap a 2-all tie to take the nightcap 8-3. UMass Dartmouth (7-18, 3-10) will resume its halted game at Rhode Island College (6-25, 2-11) at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 28 to determine the sixth and final seed in the upcoming Little East Softball Championship tournament.
GM 1: UMass Boston 3, UMass Dartmouth 2
UMass Dartmouth cracked the scoring column in its first at-bat as freshman Emily Colton (Kingston, Mass.) was hit by a pitch and moved to third base with consecutive sacrifice bunts. Tremblay registered an RBI single to give the Corsairs the early 1-0 advantage.
UMass Boston needed just two batters to tie the game, as Kaitlyn Morse (Arlington, Mass.) reached on a bunt single and moved over to second on a throwing error. With no outs and Morse on second, senior Samantha Hemstock (North Branford, Conn.) laced her first collegiate triple in 117 career games, to easily score Morse. Classmate Kirsten Morrison (North Reading, Mass.) followed with an RBI single, and three batters later senior Lyndsey Capra (Lowell, Mass.) blooped an RBI single into center field to build a 3-1 Beacons lead.
UMass Boston freshman Kaera Wise (Danvers, Mass.) settled in after a shaky first inning to allow five hits and two runs, while striking out 12 batters to record the complete-game victory.
The Corsairs loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the fourth with back-to-back singles and a walk. Colton whittled the visitors' deficit to 3-2 when she was hit by a pitch. Wise was able to escape any further damage by striking out the next batter to end the threat.
UMass Dartmouth placed the tying run in scoring position in the top of the seventh, when Colton walked and stole second. Tremblay reached base with a walk to put the potential go-ahead run on first, but junior Haley Dutton (Milton, Mass.) made a running catch along the right field line to preserve the victory.
Freshman Hannah Smith (Attleboro, Mass.) was the tough-luck loser, allowing eight hits and three runs in six innings. She issued just one walk and struck out four.
GM 2: UMass Boston 8, UMass Dartmouth 2
Tremblay went 3-for-3 with a pair of RBI to pace the Corsairs' six-hit attack. Freshman Mary Pieroni (Arlington, Mass.) helped her cause with a 1-for-3 showing at the plate with a run batted in. Pieroni (2-3) gave up seven runs on 10 hits without surrendering a walk or recording a strikeout.
Both teams traded runs in the first and third, but UMass Boston exploded for five runs in the fourth to seize control of the ballgame. With two runners in scoring position and one out, Hemstock delivered her second triple in as many games, to score Dutton and Morse. Morrison followed with an RBI, while the Beacons tacked on two more runs on a wild pitch and a Mitsiaris RBI single. That would signal the end of the day for Pieroni, as Tremblay retired two of the next three batters, but the damage had been done, as UMass Boston took a 7-2 lead into the fifth.
Morrison pushed the lead out to 8-2 in the sixth, as she hit a deep sacrifice fly to score Morse with two down in the inning.
UMass Dartmouth mounted a rally in the top of the sixth, but was only able to produce just one run. Pieroni singled down the left-field line—the Corsairs third consecutive hit of the frame—to score Tremblay. The Beacons were able to extinguish the rally, stranding the bases loaded with a pop-up and ground out.
Senior Michelle Zullo (Everett, Mass.) earned the victory in the pitching circle, tossing a complete game. The Everett, Mass. product limited the visitors to three runs on six hits and a pair of walks, while striking out two batters.
