Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Junior Marissa Spinuzzi (Fair Lawn, N.J.) and freshman Maddie O'Gryzek (Norfolk, Mass.) each drove in four runs to lead UMass Dartmouth softball to its 19th and 20th wins of the season, respectively, as the Corsairs swept Salem State on Thursday.
With 12 games remaining, the Corsairs (20-7 overall, 3-1 LEC) have now reached their highest win total since 1995, when UMass Dartmouth went 26-10 for the most victories in program history.
Corsairs 7, Salem State 2
Spinuzzi nearly completed a cycle, belting a single, double and home run on a 3-for-4 performance to help UMass Dartmouth jump on the board quickly and secure a 7-2 win in game one. Sophomore Hannah Smith (Attleboro, Mass.) fanned nine in the full seven innings, allowing just four hits and two earned runs to tie her career-high for strikeouts.
The Corsairs generated two runs right from the get-go, as Spinuzzi launched a double to dead center in the number three hitting spot, driving home leadoff hitter Emily Colton (Kingston, Mass.). A Salem State error in the next at-bat gave an RBI to Shannon Orton (Swansea, Mass.) while allowing O'Gryzek to score.
Smith and the defense sat the first three Salem State batters for the second-straight inning, and took to the plate for four more runs in the second. Sophomore Rebecca Field (Brentwood, N.H.) and junior Adi Alicea-Cordero (Dorchester, Mass.) each reached base on singles to lead off, and a Viking error scored Field. In the next at-bat, Spinuzzi drove another ball deep, bouncing it out of the glove of the Salem State centerfielder and over the fence for her team-leading second home run of the year. The shot drove in three runs and upped the lead to 6-0.
The Corsair scoring was rounded out in the third inning, when senior Rachel Carey (Holbrook, Mass.) crossed home on a muffed throw. Salem State then generated offense in the top of the fourth to gain two runs back. Freshman Gabryanna Cardenas (Oxford, Mass.) walked to load the bases, setting the stage for classmate Shanna Zeramby (Lynn, Mass.) to score two runs on a single in her turn at the plate.
The Vikings gained another opportunity in the fifth, putting a runner in scoring position, but Smith was able to get Desiree Moreno (Ashburnham, Mass.) to pop out and end the frame.
Alicea-Cordero posted a 2-for-3 game, scoring a run, while Orton and O'Gryzek each gathered RBIs. Four Vikings registered lone hits while Zeramby collected the only RBIs.
Salem State's Lleish Burney (Bristol, Conn.) took the loss, pitching six innings with nine hits, five earned runs and three strikeouts.
Corsairs 7, Salem State 6
The Vikings nearly completed a strong comeback effort in a hectic sixth inning, but O'Gryzek's four RBI and Orton's eight strikeouts were enough to close out the day with a 7-6 victory.
UMass Dartmouth picked right up where it left off in the third inning, lacing four runs to build a lead. With two outs, Colton sent a shot down the left field line to send Alicea-Cordero to third. O'Gryzek then placed a ball just in front of the plate, beating out the throw and scoring both baserunners for her first two RBI. Freshman Jill Miller (Freetown, Mass.) then sent O'Gryzek home on a double, and Orton rounded out the inning to score Miller with a triple in successive at-bats.
The fourth inning spelled much of the same for the Corsairs. With the bases loaded, a passed ball was enough for Carey to cross the plate before O'Gryzek again made the most of having two runners on base, sending a double up the middle to score both Field and Alicea-Cordero. The Corsairs exited the inning with a comfortable 7-0 lead.
After an uneventful fifth inning, the tides turned in quick fashion for Salem State. The first three Viking batters reached base, and Rebecca Krigman (Malden, Mass.) registered an RBI on a groundout to second. With two outs following another Viking score on a wild pitch, freshman Kasey Nolan (Braintree, Mass.) put a single up the middle, driving in a run, and eventually scored on another wild pitch. Now trailing just 7-4, Rachael Cyr (Amesbury, Mass.) dropped a single into right field to send in two more runs and put the game within one before Orton was able to get out of the inning.
Colton put down a single in the top of the seventh, but UMass Dartmouth could not score a run as the Vikings received one last chance to complete the comeback. Orton then shut the door, getting two groundouts and a pop-up from her defense in the first three batters and rise to 9-4 in the circle.
Six separate Salem State batters registered a hit in the game, while Colton went 2-for-4 and Orton 2-for-3. Orton allowed just six hits with only two runs earned in the circle.
Viking sophomore Meghan Black (Winchendon, Mass.) tossed five innings in the loss, permitting seven hits and one earned run with three strikeouts, and Zeramby allowed just one hit in an inning of relief.
UMass Dartmouth is back on the road Saturday, traveling to Southern Maine for its third Little East Conference series. The first game is slated for a 1 p.m. start.
