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Box Score 2 DARTMOUTH, Mass. – UMass Dartmouth Softball picked up its first win over Eastern Connecticut since 2006 in game one, and completed the sweep of the Warriors for the first time since the inception of the Little East Conference in game two on Thursday evening. The Corsairs earned league win number seven and number eight on the day, marking the highest regular-season conference win total in program history.
The 2-1 victory in 10 innings in game one snapped a 19-game losing streak to ECSU spanning a decade, and marks the first home win for UMass Dartmouth over the Warriors since 1996. In game two, the Corsairs wrapped up the sweep by a 4-3 score in 6 innings, rising to 25-12 overall and 8-4 in the LEC. ECSU slips to 13-23 overall and 4-8 in the league.
Corsairs 2, Eastern Connecticut 1 – 10 innings
A solo shot by senior Rachel Carey (Holbrook, Mass.) was enough to force extra innings, and freshman Briana Flaherty (Franklin, Mass.) scored on a passed ball in the bottom of the 10th as UMass Dartmouth came through in the clutch yet again. The win in extras is the fifth such game for the Corsairs on the season.
Sophomore Hannah Smith (Attleboro, Mass.) kept her side in position throughout, tossing nine innings while striking out eight and allowing just two hits and one earned run. Senior Shannon Orton (Swansea, Mass.) got the win as she threw the final frame, forcing three straight ground-outs.
Hits were hard to come by until the third inning, as Smith and ECSU pitcher Samantha Valentine (Ridge, N.Y.) traded several 1-2-3 frames. Carey then stepped into the box to lead off UMass Dartmouth's bottom of the third, and after sending a deep foul, straightened out to blast her first homer of the season well over the left-center fence.
The Warriors evened the score in the sixth. Senior Alyssa Hancock (Waterford, Conn.) reached base on a walk and stole second, giving Gina Georgetti (Milford, Conn.) a runner to score on a double to dead center.
UMass Dartmouth loaded the bases in their at-bat in the sixth, but the Warriors were able to gather a force-out at home and snag a line drive down the third base line to keep the Corsairs off the board. Hancock then single-handedly stopped another threat by the hosts in the seventh, closing the frame as she snagged a grounder to step on second, putting out runner Adi Alicea-Cordero (Dorchester, Mass.) and then toss out Carey at first.
In extras, both teams kept each other at bay until the tenth, when the placed runner on second came into play. Orton forced a groundout, which advanced Kelsey Mosher (Oxford, Mass.) to third. Flaherty then held the runner and gunned out the batter at first, and Orton gathered a blooper back to the circle to keep ECSU off the board.
Flaherty then got the job done in the hosts' at-bat, advancing to third on a Rebecca Field (Brentwood, N.H.) sacrifice bunt and crossing home on the next batter when ECSU allowed a passed ball.
Valentine struck out three and allowed seven hits with one earned run in the full game. Georgetti and Summer Cipriani (North Stonington, Conn.) were the lone hitters for the Warriors on the game.
Corsairs 4, Eastern Connecticut 3 – 6 innings
Orton collected her 13th win of the season in the circle in game two, allowing just three hits and no earned runs while fanning two to maintain a four-run first inning posted by the Corsair offense.
The senior helped herself by driving in a run, while Flaherty collected two RBIs on her first career home run. Sophomore Emily Colton (Kingston, Mass.) made consistent contact in the leadoff spot, going 2-for-3 while crossing home once.
UMass Dartmouth found their sweet spots off Cipriani right from the get-go. Colton began the frame with a single to left, advancing on both a sacrifice bunt from Gracie Trudeau (Dartmouth, Mass.) and a Jill Miller (Freetown, Mass.) ground-out. She then scored when a throwing error allowed Marissa Spinuzzi (Fair Lawn, N.J.) to reach base. The next play was nearly identical, when Orton reached and Spinuzzi crossed home on another ECSU throwing error. Flaherty then got all of one in the next at-bat, going yard to up the hosts' quick lead to 4-0.
An uneventful second frame then gave way to an ECSU scoring spree in the top of the third. With runners on first and second, Hancock delivered a double to left-center, scoring Taylor Smyth (Meriden, Conn.). Senior Samantha Rentz (Griswold, Conn.) then put a ball in the same spot to drive home both Hancock and Danielle Robillard (Swansea, Mass.) and cut the lead to just one.
Orton and the Corsair defense then got the job done for the final three frames until the game was called to darkness. Only one more Warrior would reach base and the score would hold through six.
Cipriani fell to 6-8 on the year, as no runs were earned. She permitted four hits while striking out four. Hancock, Rentz and junior Samantha Bardos (Norwalk, Conn.) connected for hits on the game.
The Corsairs have one more LEC series in store, traveling to Western Connecticut on Saturday for a 1 p.m. start. Eastern Connecticut will be at Rhode Island College at the same time, with both teams fighting for seeding in next week's LEC Tournament.
