Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 NAPLES, Fla. – Junior Marissa Spinuzzi (Fair Lawn, N.J.) and freshman Jill Miller (Acushnet, Mass.) each generated four hits while senior Shannon Orton (Swansea, Mass.) and sophomore Hannah Smith (Attleboro, Mass.) collected wins in the circle as UMass Dartmouth softball opened the 2016 season with victories over Wisc.-Lutheran and Albion in Florida on Friday.
Corsairs 5, Wisc.-Lutheran 0
Orton went the distance as the Corsairs opened the season, shutting out the Warriors from Wisconsin-Lutheran College 5-0 while allowing only four hits and striking out five. Offensively, Spinuzzi, Miller and freshman Maddie O'Gryzek (Norfolk, Mass.) posted two hits, with Spinuzzi connecting for a pair of doubles.
Miller drove in an RBI, along with sophomore Emily Colton (Kingston, Mass.) and freshman Briana Flaherty (Franklin, Mass.), who each went 1-for-3 at the plate. The final RBI was driven in by senior Rachel Carey (Holbrook, Mass.).
Both teams came up dry offensively to start, as the Corsairs weren't able to put a run on the board until the fifth inning. Orton put forth a strong pitchers' duel with Warrior sophomore Taylor Bjork (Horicon, Wisc.), allowing only three hits through the first three frames. Miller and O'Gryzek each reached base on singles in the first inning, but Bjork wouldn't allow another hit until Spinuzzi posted an empty-bases double in the bottom of the fourth.
UMass Dartmouth then found its stride in the fifth after Orton fanned one and forced two others to pop out in the top of the inning. Junior Abby Tremblay (New Bedford, Mass.) reached scoring position with a double to left field, and her pinch runner Rachelle Bator (Farmington, Maine) scored the game's first run on a throwing error. O'Gryzek then singled and stole second, crossing home on the next batter up as Miller singled to center field.
The Corsairs tacked on three more in the sixth for good measure, shutting the door on the Warriors. Orton and Spinuzzi began the inning with back-to-back hits, as Orton's pinch-runner Adi Alicea-Cordero (Dorchester, Mass.) scored on Carey's RBI groundout two batters later. Flaherty drove in Spinuzzi on a the next at-bat, and Brittany Cordeiro (Fall River, Mass.) then crossed home for the game's last run on a deep Colton single.
Orton fanned two Warrior batters in the top of the seventh to seal the win for the Corsairs. Bjork picked up her first loss of the season in five innings of work, striking out three while allowing six hits. Wisc.-Lutheran's Libby Schellpfeffer (Mayville, Wisc.) led the way for her squad at the plate, going 2-for-3.
Corsairs 12, Albion 4 – 5 innings
The Corsairs kept momentum moving in the second game, kicking off with a blazing hot six-run first inning against Albion College and secure a five-inning win in the circle for Smith, who fanned six while allowing nine hits.
Three Corsairs picked up a pair of hits in the rout, with Spinuzzi going 2-for-2, Miller 2-for-3 and Colton 2-for-4. Flaherty led the squad with three RBI, with junior Gracie Trudeau (New Bedford, Mass.) rounding out the UMass Dartmouth bats with an RBI single.
UMass Dartmouth took advantage of several defensive miscues by the Scots in the opening frame. Colton, Miller and Spinuzzi each scored in succession after all three got on base from singles to jump out to a quick 3-0 lead. Albion then drove in Orton as Carey took a hit-by-pitch to load the bases again. The next batter, Flaherty, then blasted a double to dead center, driving in two more runs and advancing to third on a throwing error as Albion was able to get out of the inning without any more Corsairs crossing home.
After the Scots put one on the board in the opening stanza, the Corsairs picked up right where they left off. Spinuzzi registered her second-straight hit in as many innings, advancing Miller as both then scored on an error in the next at-bat. Trudeau and Carey each eventually scored to increase the advantage to 10-1.
Albion's Monica Brugnoni (Saint Clair Shores, Mich.) smacked a two-run double to kick off third, but Smith and the Corsair defense were able to keep any Scot comeback at bay. Miller drove in Colton on an RBI single to left field in the fourth, and Spinuzzi closed the game in the bottom of the fifth as she came home off the bat of Flaherty.
The Scots saw time from three pitchers, led by Brugnoni who surrendered two hits and three runs while striking out five. She also paced Albion on offense, going 3-for-3 while driving in half of her team's runs.
UMass Dartmouth will kick off day two of its spring break trip tomorrow at 9 a.m. against Geneva at the Century Link Sports Complex in Fort Myers, Fla. The Corsairs close the day against Nichols at 1 p.m.
