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Box Score 2 FORT MYERS, Fla. – UMass Dartmouth softball kept the streak alive on Thursday, registering its eight- and ninth-straight victories over Suffolk and Castleton, respectively, at the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic to rise to 11-1 overall. On the day, freshman Jill Miller (Freetown, Mass.) extended her hitting streak to 12-straight games, and sophomore Emily Colton (Kingston, Mass.) dropped a walk-off double in the eighth inning as park of her 4-of-8 performance.
Corsairs 5, Suffolk 4 – 8 innings
The Rams registered a run in three-straight innings, forcing extra softball and taking a one-run lead before Colton drove in a run in the bottom of the eighth to steal the win.
Colton led the Corsairs with her bat, going 3-for-4 to score three RBI with UMass Dartmouth's only extra-base hit on the outing. Freshman Briana Flaherty (Franklin, Mass.) also put together a 3-for-4 performance with Miller and senior Rachel Carey (Holbrook, Mass.) each scattered two hits.
The game was a barn-burner throughout, with UMass Dartmouth jumping out to a 1-0 lead in the first. Miller put a single through the right side in the Corsairs' third at-bat to score Colton from second base. UMass Dartmouth peppered Suffolk pitcher Alli Yamakaitis (Avenel, N.J.) with three hits in the first before going temporarily quiet.
Neither team could generate much offense until the fourth inning. The Rams received their first extra-base hit from freshman Jill Pulek (Cheshire, Conn.) to open the frame. After advancing to third on the next batter, sophomore Morgan Parmeter (Maynard, Mass.) connected for a sacrifice fly to center, plating Pulek.
The Corsairs responded, with Flaherty and Carey getting on base with singles. Both scored off the bat of Colton, who drove a hard single through the middle.
Suffolk then chipped away in the next three innings, scoring one run in each of its next three at-bats to eliminate the Corsair lead. The Rams posted five hits on UMass Dartmouth's Shannon Orton (Swansea, Mass.) over the three frames, and Suffolk reliever Kim Crucioli (North Andover, Mass.) sat the first three Corsair batters in the bottom of the seventh to enter the eighth.
With Sydney Littlefield (Methuen, Mass.) placed on second to begin the inning, Parmeter blasted a double to right center to score her teammate and give Suffolk its first lead of the game.
The Corsairs couldn't be outlasted, though. With Marissa Spinuzzi (Fair Lawn, N.J.) as the placed runner on second and Flaherty reaching base on a single, Carey belted a game-tying single to plate Spinuzzi. Sophomore Abby Tremblay (New Bedford, Mass.) then reached on her only hit of the game, setting the stage for Colton to drop a ball into center field on the next at-bat and send pinch runner Brittany Cordeiro (Fall River, Mass.) home for the walk-off victory.
Crucioli took the loss despite allowing only five hits and one earned run while fanning two in three innings of work. Orton rises to 5-1 on the season in the circle, going the distance with eight hits, four earned runs and four K's.
Corsairs 3, Castleton 1
UMass Dartmouth persevered following four scoreless innings against Castleton, riding a complete game from sophomore Hannah Smith (Attleboro, Mass.), who struck out a career-high nine batters in the Corsairs' 3-1 victory in game two.
Spinuzzi's 3-for-3 game paced UMass Dartmouth on offense, as she and Miller drove in their squads' two RBI. Freshman Maddie O'Gryzek (Norfolk, Mass.) connected for 2-of-3 at the plate.
Smith did not allow a hit from the Spartans until the fifth inning, when senior Kristi Lawless (Ft. Montgomery, N.Y.) singled up the middle. Castleton couldn't advance their runner, though, as Smith fanned the next Spartan batter for the final out.
UMass Dartmouth generated four hits in their corresponding at-bat, as Tremblay led off with a single to left field. Two batters later, Miller scored Tremblay's pinch runner Rachelle Bator (Farmington, Maine) for the game's first run. O'Gryzek completed the frame's runs on a Spinuzzi RBI single.
The Corsairs tacked on one more in the sixth, when Carey blasted her team-best second triple on the second at bat. She then scored on a passed ball moments later.
Castleton's Timi Carone (Castleton, Vt.) put down her team's lone RBI in the top of the seventh, plating Tori Swaine (Oakdale, N.Y.) on a single up the middle, but Smith got the next batter to fly out to right field and quell any comeback.
Smith surrendered just six hits and one earned run in the circle, staying unbeaten at 6-0. Castleton's Taylor Paquette (Addison, Vt.) allowed three earned runs on 10 hits, fanning five. Carone and Lawless each recorded two hits to lead the Spartans.
The Corsairs will complete their Florida trip on Friday morning at Century Link Sports Complex, squaring off with Wooster at 9 a.m. and Wisconsin-Superior at 11 a.m.
Photo credit: Tony Spinuzzi
