Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 FORT MYERS, Fla. – UMass Dartmouth softball pounded out 22 runs in only 12 innings on day three of the Gene Cusic Classic in Florida, going 2-0 with wins over Alfred State and Curry to rise to 7-1 for the program's best start in two decades.
Corsairs 8, Alfred State 1
Senior Shannon Orton (Swansea, Mass.) pitched five innings and drove in two RBI, while junior Marissa Spinuzzi (Fair Lawn, N.J.) tacked on an additional pair of RBI and pitched two innings of relief to lead the Corsairs to an 8-1 victory over Alfred State to open the day.
Freshman Jill Miller (Freetown, Mass.) dropped three hits on four appearances for an RBI, with classmate Maddie O'Gryzek (Norfolk, Mass.) going 2-for-4. Sophomores Kristen Raposa (New Bedford, Mass.) and Rebecca Field (Brentwood, N.H.) connected for a hit apiece with Field knocking a double.
The Corsairs gained two quick runs in the first as a series of wild pitches plated both Emily Colton (Kingston, Mass.) and O'Gryzek at the top of the order. For the next three innings, Orton was unhittable, facing only 10 batters and fanning six.
In the top of the fourth, three straight RBI singles added three more to the Corsairs' total. Orton and Miller each connected to score Colton and O'Gryzek. Right after Miller's hit, Spinuzzi nothced single of her own, sending in pinch runner Brittany Cordeiro (Fall River, Mass.).
Spinuzzi singled to drive in another run in the top of the sixth, and then entered for her first performance in the circle this season in the bottom of the frame. Alfred State's Claire Hartman (Alden, N.Y.) generated her team's only run in that inning with a single to left field, but junior Adi Alicea-Cordero (Dorchester, Mass.) prevented any more damage with a pick-off on an attempted steal of home plate.
Field blasted her RBI double in the final inning and Orton capped off her performance with a single to send Field home in the top of the seventh. The defense backed up Spinuzzi to collect the final three outs.
Alfred State's Jordan Leonard (Lancaster, N.Y.) took the loss in the circle after coming on early in the first inning. She allowed 11 hits and six earned runs.
Corsairs 14, Curry 4 – 5 innings
The bats got even hotter for UMass Dartmouth in game two, as the Corsairs produced 12 runs on nine hits in the first inning alone, lighting up Curry for a five-inning contest. Six different Corsairs recorded extra-base hits on the game.
Miller extended her hitting streak to all eight games this season, topping the roster with three RBI on her lone double. Orton went 2-for-2, with Spinuzzi and Colton also produced a pair of hits.
Colton started the offensive flurry with a lead-off double, and Orton drove in the first run two batters later. Following a Spinuzzi single and Curry's second out, the next ten UMass Dartmouth batters reached base with six coming off hits. Junior Gracie Trudeau (New Bedford, Mass.) sent in two runs on a double and Miller's three-run double joined with three other RBI to force a Colonial pitching change. Senior Rachel Carey (Holbrook, Mass.) then plated Spinuzzi before the final out to up the score to 12-0 entering Curry's first at-bat.
Sophomore pitcher Hannah Smith (Attleboro, Mass.) wouldn't allow a hit until the fourth inning, striking out three in the process. In the fourth, Curry's Morgan Haaland (Fairhaven, Mass.), Mikayla Korona (Bellingham, Mass.) and Kevi Oatway (East Hartford, Conn.) all generated RBI singles and another scored on an error to prevent the shutout and bring the game within eight.
Field's two-run single up the middle in the top of the fifth put more distance between the squads, and Smith got the first three Curry batters to ground out to secure the early ending.
In five frames, Smith surrendered four hits and two earned runs to go along with five strikeouts. The sophomore is now 4-0 on the season, having won each of her starts in the past four days. Her counterpart Rebecca Black (East Greenwich, R.I.) took the loss in two-thirds of the first inning, while Jordan Lizotte (Rehoboth, Mass.) tossed 4.1 innings, allowing three hits and two earned runs.
UMass Dartmouth will return to North Collier Regional Park seeking its sixth- and seventh- on Thursday to square off with St. Joseph (Conn.) at 11 a.m. and Minnesota-Morris at 1 p.m.
