Box Score BOSTON – UMass Dartmouth Softball became the winningest team in program history in the opening round of the Little East Conference Tournament on Wednesday, again gathering a walk-off victory by a 6-5 final score against UMass Boston.
With the win, the Corsairs are now 27-13 heading into the remainder of the double-elimination tournament this coming weekend at No. 1 seed Keene State. The victory surpasses the previous all-time winningest mark of 26-10, reached by Marilyn Ritz's 1995 team. The No. 2 seed for the championship, UMass Dartmouth will meet No. 4 seed Western Connecticut on Friday at 3 p.m.
UMass Dartmouth's flair for the dramatic struck yet again in the bottom of the seventh inning, as the fifth-seeded Beacons played host for the contest due to weather conditions in Dartmouth. Entering the game's last at-bat, the Corsairs trailed 5-2 and had not put a run on the board since the first inning.
With the rain falling, senior Rachel Carey (Holbrook, Mass.) reached base on a walk. In the next at-bat, freshman Maddie O'Gryzek (Norfolk, Mass.) smacked a double to left field, putting Carey around the bases to kick off the comeback.
With O'Gryzek on third, sophomore Emily Colton (Norfolk, Mass.) laced a sacrifice fly to plate the Corsairs' second-straight RBI. Gracie Trudeau (Dartmouth, Mass.) then poked a single up the middle as part of her 3-for-4 day as the game-tying run. Wild pitches put freshman Jill Miller (Freetown, Mass.) on base and advanced Trudeau home, tying the game at five and setting the stage for junior Marissa Spinuzzi (Fair Lawn, N.J.).
After battling several pitches with UMass Boston freshman pitcher Annie Thomas (Lunenberg, Mass.), Spinuzzi was able to connect, dropping an unmanageable ball into the gap in shortstop, giving enough space for pinch runner Adi Alicea-Cordero (Dorchester, Mass.) to score.
The Beacons began the afternoon on a hot streak, registering three runs in the first off a home run from junior Gia Raczkowski (Stoneham, Mass.) and two in the second to give a Thomas cushion. After entering with one out remaining in the second inning for sophomore starter Hannah Smith (Attleboro, Mass.), UMass Dartmouth senior pitcher Shannon Orton (Swansea, Mass.) permitted just one hit through the next five, finishing with two strikeouts.
Orton also was responsible for the Corsairs' two opening runs in the first inning, sending in two scores on a single to right field. O'Gryzek went 2-for-3 on the game, while Spinuzzi put up a 2-for-4 performance.
Thomas pitched a full game, as all runs were earned on nine hits while fanning five. Raczkowski led all players with her three-run shot, while junior Kaitlyn Morse (Arlington, Mass.) went 2-for-4 including a double, scoring twice.
The Corsairs meet Western Connecticut for the third time in less than a week Friday at 4 p.m., as UMass Dartmouth previously split a twin bill with the Colonials last Saturday. UMass Boston will face an elimination game at 11 a.m. on Friday, meeting No. 6 seed Eastern Connecticut.
